alienson

[alienson]

[alienson]

[alienson]

The Dungeons & Dragons paladin is objectively the funniest class because at first glance it seems like an artefact of an earlier age of the fantasy genre for which contemporary inspirations are thin on the ground, but then you dig into its thematic core and realise there are contemporary popular media characters who almost perfectly fit the mould, but like 80% of them are deeply unwell teenage lesbians.

[alienson]

Something Confucius something something,

( "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame."

"If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good.")

The thing about aggressive age-verification procedures is that they're a sign of a low-trust society. It's the sign of a society that expects people to be lying a lot. That's not a good thing for a society to be, even absent other factors.

I've spent the past few months living in Austria, and one of the things that has really impressed me about this country is how much it... trusts me. Transit works via the honour system. Nobody tries to card me when I buy beer. When I explained my usual prescription to my doctor here, she didn't try to persuade me I wanted something else instead. You can buy a vibrator from a vending machine.

And it all just works. The transit system is well-funded, the ERs are not full of dead drunk teens (it's hard to do too much damage to yourself with the weak-ass beer here, especially if comparatively few people drive), and nobody seems particularly fussed about it. This is the safest, cleanest, and happiest city I've ever seen. I live in what is broadly considered to be the worst part of town, and it's miles more pleasant than the nice parts of some North American cities I've lived in.

Nothing destroys trust more than enforcement. And if you have enough trust, you don't need enforcement. Isn't that better?

[alienson]

COMICS ABOUT KILLING PEOPLE! 130 pgs, 19 stories, free to read on GLOBALCOMIX follow the LINK: GLOBAL COMIX Free download at ITCH.IO Reblogs are appreciated 😌 A collection of some (not all) of my short stories, with almost 30 pages of brand new material! It's about comics and how great it is to read them!

[alienson]

If I remember correctly, that comic was from the 1940s, and had Archie meeting Veronica's father, industrialist millionaire Hiram K Lodge, for the first time. Mr Lodge had taken Archie to lunch, and when he was confused by the menu, Archie tried to play it safe by asking for the same thing as his host.

Maybe the restaurant didn't want to risk offending a guest of Riverdale's version of Jeff Bezos.

And if Riverdale was in Illinois, New York, North Carolina or South Dakota, all of those states allowed alcohol sales to 18 year olds in the years between 1933 and 1969 or so. So Archie might have squeaked by with a cocktail order during his senior year.

I have to assume they don’t have a minimum drinking age in Riverdale or else that restaurant is breaking the law.

[alienson]

If you're able to view content from Japan, may I enthusiastically recommend the たまご会議(かいぎ) segments from Pitagora Switch?

https://www2.nhk.or.jp/school/watch/bangumi/?das_id=D0005260232_00000#in=44&out=178

In language meant for native speaking 4-8 year olds, a group of eggs who seem to be having a business meeting decide how they'd like to be cooked. And in the process, they cover the pertinent vocab for things like frying, boiling, peeling and mixing.

Pitagora Switch was amazing for boosting my listening comprehension, and for being generally delightful to watch. If you liked the Pinball countdown from Sesame Street or the how-crayons-are-made Mr Rogers, Pitagora will hit places you forgot needed attention.

[alienson]

For fun.

And violence.

Which I'm not.

[alienson]

[alienson]

Chinga La Migra

[alienson]

Catsuka 25th anniversary shikishi by Etienne Guignard, featuring me, Catsuka's mascot, and a hundred well-known characters. Since May 30, 2025 and for one year, I'm inviting anyone who wishes to do so to make a birthday shikishi to my Catsuka website, which I've been running on my own since 2000 as a hobby. If you want to take part >> www.catsuka.com/25years Thank you ♥

[alienson]

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

Original art by George Gross

[alienson]

Finally figured out how to permanently disable google assistant on phone

[alienson]

McMansion Hell urges all New Yorkers to Rank Zohran Mamdani #1 for Mayor of NYC

I know I am just a blog about ugly houses but I want to say something important here: the ruling class in this country does not want you to have affordable housing. They don't want you to have clean, reliable public transportation. They don't want you to have access to groceries you can afford. If something bad happens to you, they don't care if you live or die. If you lose your home, they will hole up in their penthouses, McMansions, and mommy-bought apartments and tell you it's your fault -- but it's not. It is theirs. Everything from budget cuts to rent hikes, is their fault, their way of ensuring that the city becomes a place made up solely of people like themselves.

Zohran Mamdani is the only high profile candidate I've seen in my narrow, millennial lifetime running for any position -- least of all the mayor of the biggest city in the country -- on a platform of decommodification in terms of access to food, housing and transportation. City-run grocery stores would ensure that food stays affordable because there is no profit motive. While some are critical of his policy of fare-free transportation (as opposed to spending the same amount of money improving services), given the amount of policing involved in watching the fareboxes, it's something I'm coming more and more around to.

In demanding a rent freeze, Zohran is one of the only politicians able to articulate a direct plan for keeping people in their homes at a time when rent is skyrocketing with no end in sight. Zohran is one of a limited few in this miserable, cowardly country who are willing to speak out for the rights of Palestinians being murdered en masse by Israel. A vote for Zohran is a vote for the idea that better things are possible and, if you ask me, I think we live in such dire times that we've begun to forget this fundamental truth: things do not have to be like this. We do not have to live under the jackboot of privatization and exploitation forever. That choice, however, is up to us.

I am forever skeptical of the power of the ballot box to enact lasting change, especially in recent years. In fact, I am the most skeptical of electoralism I have ever been. However, why is it that the right can use what little sovereignty and enfranchisement is available to us to enact sweeping, if devastating changes, and yet, when the opportunity presents itself to the left, all we hear is that such things are no better than pissing in the wind? The answer to this question, of course, is that the ruling class is perfectly content with a party that hinders rather than ushers in change. Zohran may be using the sclerotic party system we've been doomed to inhabit, but despite these limitations his candidacy has surged immensely in the last few months, and the momentum of the people is on his side. This may be one of the last chances wherein one can attempt a truly progressive campaign like this.

Now that things are heating up, the ruling class, the backers of Andrew Cuomo, an abuser of women and a man responsible for the untold deaths of the elderly because he valued profits over their lives so early on in the pandemic, will stop at nothing to make sure that Zohran Mamdani does not win, that things stay the same. That the rent goes up, that the grocery prices continue to explode, that New York City becomes the playground of the rich and famous at the expense of everyone else. The party will try to intervene in undemocratic ways just like they did with Bernie Sanders in the 2020 primary. There will be untold lies and accusations, the press will abandon what few journalistic obligations they still abide by, and it will get ugly. There are even rumors that Cuomo will run as an independent even if he loses the primary, which, to be honest, isn't a bad tactic -- he's just the worst guy to be using it.

I realize this post may be annoying to some (hell, I myself live in Chicago), and I'm sure there's some rightful criticism for my not having used my blog like this before. (However, for those of you who don't know, I usually write about all manner of politics in my column at The Nation!) That being said, if you follow me and you live in New York City, rank Zohran #1 and Brad Lander #2. DO NOT RANK SUBURBANITE BIKE LANE-PARKER ANDREW CUOMO.

Anyway, that's all. I'll be back with a new McMansion Hell this Friday, so stay tuned.

[alienson]

One of the best things I ever learned when dealing with a 4 year old is that they understand fairness in their bones. If they believe you're gonna deal fair with them, they'll usually try to hold up their end of the deal.

And letting them know that you're trusting them with a contract? That when you shake hands, that you're extending to them the same kind of respect and expectation that they see you offer other people? That makes them feel like... the opposite of insignificant and overlook-able.

So, yeah, enter into a verbal contract with a 4 year old! Just, y'know, take it as seriously as she does.

The problem with having a child with an attorney that has spoken to the child like an adult since birth is that she's 4 years old and she's negotiating the order in which we're going to complete tasks as a family to best suit her idea of an ideal day.

[alienson]

New book new book! Get it wherever you like to buy your books!