Hey, Mom! The Explanation.

Here's the permanent dedicated link to my first Hey, Mom! post and the explanation of the feature it contains.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #602 - Voting Discrimmination and Resistance


Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #602 - Voting Discrimmination and Resistance

Hi Mom,

Twitter will always provide. I had no plan for today's post. Actually, untrue. I had a plan, but the original content is not yet finished, so that plan got scrapped, and then I didn't have a plan.

I rarely open the entire Twitter feed and look at it. I follow A LOT of Twitter accounts. Twitter tells me this is only 425 accounts, but the fire house gusher it represents makes it seem like a lot more.

I let a trickle of this feed through to my phone as text messages as a way to see just the activity of a VERY select few, and still that collection of posts since I last checked last night is at 24 texts.

It's difficult for me to be swiftly topical anymore. This news came out yesterday and it's late Tuesday before I get anything posted. Since I am happy when I post anything at all, I am not worried about it.

So, on that subject of Twitter and the trickle I let through to my phone, when I checked last night there was this lovely article about the reversal of the Department of Justice's traditional position in siding with citizens in issues regarding Voter ID laws.

The GOP wants to exclude everyone who does not vote its way from voting as the reality (those in touch with the reality) of its margin of victory was too slim. In fact, nonexistent when it came to the "presidency," as Trump DID NOT win the popular vote no matter what he wants his Fox News numbed followers to believe.

So, I just look at Twitter to get this post ready and then there's THIS:

https://twitter.com/scottbix/status/836368241278738432



And that's a whole other subject....

Remember, my post about punching a Nazi? HERE IT IS - IT'S OKAY TO PUNCH A NAZI - hey mom #572 - (if not).

Let me table that for now and let this just SIT HERE AS A great big fuck you from the Trump administration.

It's going to be like this from now on, right? The only day I am not upset to my very core is the day I isolate myself completely from the news.

But today is not about the renewed rise of anti-Semitism in our country, which has never gone away, but about resistance to this "administration" and this debacle in Texas with the Voter ID laws.

So, before the sad news about Texas (a state that maybe really should be its own country) and the Department of Justice's horrible ruling on Voter ID laws, here's an email from MoveOn.org and the need for funds and RESISTANCE today of all days, February 28th, 2017.


EMAIL FROM MoveOn.org

Dear fellow MoveOn member,
Resistance is more than a slogan—it’s a movement. A people-powered movement supported and fueled by countless Americans, including millions of MoveOn members like you.
This Tuesday, February 28, Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress for the first time. His speechwriter is Stephen Miller, who helped draft the Muslim ban and who has championed discriminatory and harmful policies. We can expect that this speech will be filled with more of the same prejudiced agenda that undermines our shared values and equality. But, frankly, it doesn't matter what Trump says on Tuesday—his actions in his first 30 days in office speak for themselves.
This is why MoveOn is partnering with close friends and allies of mine to organize a rally—called "Resistance Address: Defending American Values in a Time of Moral Crisis"—that will take place outside the White House before Trump gives his speech to Congress.

We will continue to resist, but MoveOn needs your support to fuel the resistance with more events like Tuesday night's "Resistance Address," and all of the actions and tactics we need to keep building the resistance. Can you pitch in $5 a month?
Tuesday's rally will feature people and speakers from organizations who represent the most vulnerable communities, those under attack from the Trump administration. At Tuesday'srally, we will talk about standing up for our moral values and not giving in to the oppression manifested in one hateful Trump administration executive order after another.
After Tuesday, as we continue to march, stand united, and fight back, we need groups like MoveOn to help channel and guide this grassroots resistance—every day, every week, every month, and onward, in the long struggle ahead.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mark
P.S. For those of you who can't be in Washington on Tuesday, we’ll be livestreaming the rally on social media—follow the #ResistanceAddress hashtag and watch live on MoveOn's Facebook page, starting at 6 p.m. ET (5 CT/4 MT/3 PT).
P.P.S. Tonight, Sunday, February 26 at 8 p.m. ET (7 CT/6 MT/5 PT), MoveOn will host a "Ready to Resist: What's Next after #ResistanceRecess" conference call. If you haven't RSVP'd already, click here.
Want to support MoveOn's work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. Will you stand with MoveOn?


FROM - http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/texas-voter-id-reversal-doj

Jeff Sessions

The Sessions Effect: Trump DOJ Reverses Course In Major Texas Voter ID Case

ByALICE OLLSTEINPublishedFEBRUARY 27, 2017, 12:47 PM EDT


For the last six years, the Justice Department has sided with the citizens and
civil rights groups fighting Texas' voter ID law, which a federal judge at one point
found to be intentionally discriminatory against black and Latino voters. But its position changed Monday when the department decided to drop its claim
that Republican state lawmakers enacted the law to make it harder
for minorities to vote.
"This signals to voters that they will not be protected under this administration,"
said Danielle Lang, the deputy director of voting rights at the Campaign
Legal Center, which is challenging Texas' law in court.
The reversal, on the eve of a key hearing in the case, is a clear sign
of the DOJ's direction under Attorney General Jeff Sessions—a longtime advocate
of voter ID laws and other voting restrictions. The department signaled its intentions
last week when it joined with the state of Texas to ask the court to hold off on judging
the constitutionality of the law until Republican lawmakers can modify it. The court rejected this request.
Lang told TPM that the DOJ reached out Monday morning to her and the other voting rights groups fighting the law to notify them of their new position.

On Tuesday, DOJ lawyers will appear before U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales
Ramos and inform her that the federal government is dismissing its claim
that the voter ID law was crafted with a discriminatory intent.
“There have been six years of litigation and no change in the facts,” Lang told TPM. 
“We have already had a nine-day trial and presented thousands of pages of
documents demonstrating that the picking and choosing of what IDs count was
entirely discriminatory and would fall more harshly on minority voters.
So for the DOJ to come in and drop those claims just because of a change of
administration is outrageous.”
In a filing late Monday afternoon (see below) the Department of Justice informed
the court that they will drop their claim that the law has a discriminatory purpose,
citing "the comity necessary in our system of federalism." The department asked the
court to dismiss their claim of discriminatory purpose without prejudice. The
groups suing Texas over the law, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and
the Campaign Legal Center, will continue to fight to prove discriminatory purpose
despite the loss of the DOJ's support.
"We will move forward," Lang said. "None of the record evidence has changed.
We fully expect to prevail."
Texas enacted the strict voter ID law in 2011, and it has been tied up in court
battles ever since. Civil rights groups say the policy, which accepts gun licenses
but not student IDs at the polls, discriminates against low-income and minority
voters who are far less likely to possess an ID and face difficulties obtaining one.
In some parts of the state, the groups argued in court, people would have to
drive more than 100 miles to reach the nearest office where they could obtain
an ID—a burden many cannot overcome.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the state from fully enforcing the law
for the 2016 presidential election—a move that preserved the voting rights
of more than 16,000 Texans, according to state records. Last summer, the
appeals court agreed with the challengers, which then included the Justice
Department, that the law had the effect of discriminating against minority
voters, but it sent the question of whether the law was intentionally
discriminatory back to the district court for further review after the election.
The district court will hear arguments on that question in the hearing scheduled for Tuesday, but the Justice Department will no longer be on the side of voting rights advocates.

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 604 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1702.28 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on 
Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. 
So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. 
I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 
7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at
10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.

Monday, February 27, 2017

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #601 - WOMEN KNOW MATH - Musical Monday for 1702.27


Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #601 - WOMEN KNOW MATH - Musical Monday for 1702.27

Hi Mom,

So here's how this happened: I patronize (as in "to be a patron of" not "treat condescendingly") Natalie Metzger, who is a great artist drawing two online comics -- Over Encumbered and Cthulu Slippers -- and has her own web site, The Fuzzy Slug. Also, Natalie recently did the illustrations for John Scalzi's book Miniatures, which I just finished reading.

So, it's all a perfect storm of interconnectedness, right? Anyway, since I am a patron of Natalie's on Patreon (awesome), she sent a message when the Doubleclicks released this song -- "Women Know Math," for which she did an illustration. In fact, the video for the song contains 50 illustrations, all by different artists, each illustration featuring some part of the lyrics.

Brilliant.

I had not heard of the Doubleclicks. Or rather, I may have heard of them, but I had not yet listened to their music.

This song immediately captivated, if only because I have had many great women math teachers in my life, and I am enjoying being in class with one right now.

But then, with a little more exploring, OH MY, the other songs, especially "Nothing to Prove," which, as it turns out, features Scalzi holding a sign (see picture below) and wow WHAT A SONG. As my friend Walt wrote on Facebook when he shared the video I tagged him in: "this is everything."

I could boil down the message to "boys are mean" and "boys are stupid," and though that's funny, and true, it also seems to mock the seriousness of the content and the message about how girls are geeks, too, real fans, and deserve their space in fandom and the freedom to be themselves. I have never even questioned that idea so hearing stories of hater boys trying to marginalize the geekdom of women makes no sense to me.

Oh, AND, the Doubleclicks are funding their new album at KICKSTARTER!!! See link below in Natalie's article.

These are my new favorite songs: "Women Know Math" and "Nothing to Prove." CAN YOU DIG IT?

Anyway, enough of me, check the music. Several Doubleclicks in this entry plus the link (below) to the band's You Tube page.

But first, Natalie's post on her illustration and the Doubleclicks. Yay!

DOUBLECLICKS ON YOU TUBE









http://www.thefuzzyslug.com/blog/2017/2/women-know-math-by-the-doubleclicks




Women Know Math by The Doubleclicks

February 15, 2017

Monday, the fabulous band, The Doubleclicks, released their latest song and video, Women Know Math. It's a beautiful song about gender issues and features the amazing art from fifty artists including myself. 





For my part, I illustrated the "I crush on dudes" text. When coming up with the design for this, I kept debating with myself on what to do for this illustration. In truth, this one was a difficult one for me because of the serious/sensitive nature of the song, and all the illustration possibilities. In the end, I decided to play with the sexual dimorphism in certain species where females are typically larger than males because looks do not/should not dictate what it is to be "female". Also, I really like drawing reptiles. That being settled, I chose to use Python brongersmai as my subject mainly because their coloration and pattern could be adapted to illustrate the text and a play on the word "crush" as a thing that is quintessentially python. Did I mention I love to over analyze things? I also cranked up the dimorphism on the males to make them extra small cuties to add extra balance to the composition.

Here is the final piece:


The Doublclicks also have a Kickstarter going right now for their next album, as it so happens, 



MORE DOUBLE CLICKS

This next song is even more awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, look, it's Scalzi.

Can't believe this song came out four years ago, and I am just discovering it now.



"This is everything." - my friend, Walt Curley















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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 603 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1702.27 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #600 - Focus Knob and blog recap

https://xkcd.com/1796/
Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #600 - Focus Knob and blog recap

Hi Mom,

This comic resonated with me as I have trouble with focus. Permanent link to this comic: https://xkcd.com/1796/

I need this focus knob.

I am eating some dark chocolate as I write this and thinking of you, Mom. You love dark chocolate. Present tense intentional.

Like right now, I am supposed to be working. I have work, I have homework, I have chores. I am tired. I am battling some virus. It wants to lay me out, but I won't let it.

I decided a week or so ago that it was time for a blog recap, but I saved it for entry #600 as this seemed fitting. I didn't do much for the 500th entry. I did acknowledge it:


http://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2016/11/hey-mom-talking-to-my-mother-500-number.html

This picture above was the header of entry #500.

600 entries (602 days since your death, Mom) seems no more significant than 500. But one thing that is true is that I am generating more blog work than I had originally conceived, and it feels good. It's not always purely original, but it's often seen by many people, not just you, Mom, as I will show in the following stats reports.



I have written several blog recaps and so I have now created a blog recap category. Here's a couple of the recaps and some of the key text.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #177 - Year end review and best blogs

This one contains what I felt were the top 20 posts at the end of 2015. I may do another top 20 now that I have logged 600 entries. Click the link if you want to see the list. It's a good list. But here's the content that I think it's worth . reading or re-reading.

Today, I create and publish the 177th blog entry in this series, inspired by wishing to continue my conversations with you. 177 is just five posts shy of the halfway mark for the year. And, like with the T-shirts project, I do plan to stop at 365 posts, which will come not on the day you died a year later but on the second day following the day you died in this coming 2016.

At this time, I felt it would be a good idea to reflect on this avocation, to share some statistics of readership, and to choose the twenty best entries of the year thus far. I tried to restrict myself to top ten and could not.

Like with T-shirts, that came from my struggle to understand having cancer and coping with recovery from having cancer, this blog series originates with your death, Mom, but becomes more than a journal about grieving; it has become a journal about living. My intent is that by writing about the things I want to write about, I will show that I have moved on, or at least how I am trying to move on.

So far, it has been easier than I thought it would be. Liesel, especially, thought I would be completely broken by your death, despite my assurances that I was more prepared than she believed given all that we had been through with you, Mom, in the last fifteen years, but especially the original situation, the bacterial meningitis that changed all of our lives forever.

But by saying that the moving on, the continuing, the living has been "easier" than I thought it would be, this does not imply that it has been easy. I feel the loss of you every day, Mom. I find new ways to cope with that loss every day. My choices are not the choices that others would make, but this difference does not make my choices wrong. They are my choices. This is my grief.

And yet, this is also my life. As I noted, I did not want this blog to be a daily cant on how much I miss you and how I am struggling to move on with life that does not include you in it as a living person (because I do feel you strongly in my daily life as a spiritual entity). I could simply post 365 variations on the theme of "I miss you," but that's not what I am trying to do. The blog theme comes from the idea of continuing my daily conversations with you as I called you nearly every day over the last six years. And I think I have done very well with a variety of content. Yes, some of it is specifically about grief, some of it consists of memories of our life together, but some of it really has nothing to do with you at all, Mom, it's just something I want to write about, such as yesterday's book reviews and Tuesday's review of book one of the Dark Knight III - The Master Race comic book. I have spent a great deal of time and energy on keeping my content varied and not only of interest to you, Mom (more or less). but also to others who graciously share some of their time by peeking in on what I am doing with mine (my time, that is).

I have 188 of these entries left to write, and I am confident that I can keep up my standards and achieve some new things. Not all of the entries will be verbose or complex, many will be short comments on a picture, my continuing reports on our Scotland trip (Liesel's and mine), or reprinted content from my T-shirt series (which is the greatest cheat but in a way one of my chief joys), but I will continue to post content daily (except when I get behind) and think of you daily, Mom, whether I am writing about something that would interest you or something that interests me and you have to listen politely.






Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #236 - Hey Mom, a blog recap

Some may perceive that what I am doing is holding on, that I am not letting go because I keep writing "Hey Mom" entries to you, Mom, making a public display of my grief over losing you, and my grief over losing David Bowie as I feature Daily Bowie entries with same frequency as daily messages to you. (BTW, I have no idea how many Daily Bowie entries I plan to do. So far, no end in sight is planned.)

But this activity of writing to you is not about how I cannot let go. It's actually putting on display the process of letting go. Am I going to write Hey Mom posts for the rest of my life? No. I have pledged to do 365 of them, a year, and then I am going to stop. This does not mean that I will never again write about you. I am going to think about you every day, feel this loss every day, for the rest of my life. But I decided to do a year of continuing our conversations. After a year, I will stop the public display of those conversations, but the conversations themselves--and especially the private stuff that I am too shy to share on this blog--will continue as well.

I fall behind frequently. I gave up the dedication to making sure I actually post something every day because with my schedule that is very difficult if not impossible, at least in terms of completion. I could post unfinished place holders every day, but that's not very interesting. And since Blogger allows me to post backwards in time, I can fall behind, catch up a week's worth over a couple of days, and still look like I have posted every day. This last week, I sacrificed variety a bit for catching up,  and basically detailed my days narrated to pictures from my family archive. I am okay with those choices as the detail of my daily life is much like what I shared with you on the phone, Mom. But I do prefer more variety of subject matter.

And so variety. My life is rumble strip of pounding, hammering, work-mandated (or work-addicted?) mania, in which I have too much to do in too little time. I could spend every day whining about my work-work (jobs), my school work, my grades, the laundry, the chickens, the puppy, and never come up for air and breathe in a better and more interesting range of content. And so, I try to write about as wide a variety of things as I am able to do. I am sure I could go wider, but the topics are still filtered through what interests me at a given time, and though I am interested in everything, I am not always interested in writing about everything. But I want some diversity here because otherwise I might just write about computers, comic books, and Baseball. So I try to stretch myself. I try to learn new things. I try to focus on things that I care about. I strive to generate good content, to share well, to make connections, and to provide whatever insubstantial insight my time and energy allows.

And yet, I may be seen as circling the same subject all the time. I could write about how I miss you, Mom, every day. I could write about loss and grief every day. I do keep returning to those topics. I make mention of missing you frequently. I keep banging around the same subject matter because I expect to shake loose an essential truth. I feel like there's something I am missing in this experience. Something I have not understood needs to be unearthed, brought out of the dark, and targeted with bright, well-focused light. I do not know what this thing, this truth, this revelation is, but I keep yammering away and masticating it down to the nub in an attempt to find it, assuming this all makes sense to anyone but me, and, well, you, Mom, because you are so near to me all the time, now.

So that's the recap as it is. What's the essential truth for which I am searching? I have no idea.

Here's to another 129 days remaining in this blog year as I continue to search.



Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #350 - A year ago, it began

There's an emptiness that I cannot define. And I guess, it's this emptiness that is also complex. The emptiness is caused by many things or exists for many reasons. I plumb this depth often, trying to find its shape, its meaning, its origin.

I have learned in this year to examine closely the rational-emotional split inside me. Rationally, intellectually, consciously, I knew you would not live forever, Mom. I knew we were on borrowed time since 2000 when you got the meningitis. I felt that I was prepared. We had so many close calls. So many bedside vigils. But emotionally, I was not ready; I was not prepared. And there's a place in me that has all this emotion for you, Mom, that is empty because it is never refilled with experience with you, at least not physically in person in corporeal form.

It's the adjustment of my emotions that is still in progress and maybe it always will be. Judging by the experiences of others who have lost a parent, or a mother, I can see that the grief goes on and on and on. I know from your own experience of losing your mother that you grappled with that grief for the rest of your life. I expect to do the same.

And so I mark these dates. I reflect. I connect. I strive. I have moved on. I am not trying to hold on to you, Mom. I am celebrating my life as lived now, in the moment, and I cherish the love we had and the loves I have now. And though my life is wonderful, there is something missing, and something I do not want to be missing, you.



I think this is one of my best blog entries about writing this blog:

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #88 - 90 days and 88 blog entries

This is the core content but click the link to see the full entry:

And so, two days after you died, Mom, it struck me that another blog project was just what I needed to deal with my grief. It hit me that day (a Monday) that I would not be able to call you on the phone and talk to you any more, so I decided to make a blog that would continue those conversations. I already had this Sense of Doubt blog in operation, so I just started to feature "Hey, Mom" here.

This blog is more than a way for me to work on grief. This blog serves as a vehicle to allow me to exercise my writing muscles on a daily basis. Some days I days generate more content than others, like today, but the goal is to talk to you, Mom, and by extension to give me a platform to really write about whatever I want.

Like with the T-shirts blog, the daily writing discipline helps me make sense of my life and to like my life rather than to hate it; and so even when work and anxiety and stress try to suck me down the storm drain of life, I have this blog to look forward to doing and it helps me keep going from one day to the next. I made a promise to you, Mom, and thus by extension to myself that I would devote myself to daily posts for another year, like with T-shirts. So far, so good, though there are a few posts on here (there are on t-shirts, too) that I consider unfinished.

It's sort of a misconception that this blog will be a daily reflection on grief in general or even my grief in particular. Surely, the sense of loss pervades the blog as I have a sign off every day about how I love you, Mom, and I want someone to give you a kiss, which is the exact way I used to end every phone call to you (or a goodbye when I saw you in person and could kiss you myself).

The grief is here and all around me, but the blog is meant to be about my life. Really, it's about me. My subject matter concerns the things with which I am concerned. Along the way, I will write about you, Mom. I will draw on memories. I will reflect on my feelings and share about grieving. But in the final analysis, I am doing this blog for me, about me, about life, and in that sense, it's a celebration. Because, after all, I am still here, living, loving, crying, and dancing for joy. I am not miserable. I am not sad all the time. I eat sushi and drink cocktails. I play music and sing loudly as I dance around the house. I ride my bike, take the puppy for walks, and play Ultimate. Life is happening. It's hard, sometimes, but I grab it by the horns and wrestle. I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world. I live.

If this blog is about me, or even my private conversations with you, Mom, then why share it? (ASIDE: And, yes, dear readers not my Mom, there are private things that I share with Mom that I do not put in writing here.) If it's just writing exercise, then why would anyone want to read it? I don't know. I do not expect readers. Though I mention readers from time to time, the only reader I really imagine is you, Mom, and you are not so much reading it after its publication, like other readers, as accompanying me as I write it. You are here with me. You are seated right next to me or on my shoulder or on my back. I FEEL YOU very strongly in all these locations at once.

So, again, if this is about me but for you, Mom, and you are here, then why share it with the world via social media? Well, gee, isn't that the whole purpose of social media? Isn't my daily blog post like a status update? Writing is meant to be read by other people. I have never been very big on doing writing that I am not planning to show other people at some point in the future, the exception being notes for a novel or piece of short fiction.

Writing is meant to be read, and so I share. I have had a great deal of positive feedback, which I have written about here on this blog on numerous occasions. In fact, I just wrote about the feedback subject nine days ago in Hey Mom #79, though my favorite post on feedback is Hey Mom #31 "forever and ever." The positive feedback I have received has encouraged me.

STATISTICS

Stats for blog page views are a funny thing because some of the numbers are driven by Internet bots. Since most of my human traffic comes from Facebook and Twitter, I can chart some of the traffic as actual humans, but it's difficult to wholly separate the bots from the humans even with Google Analytics.

When I last did this review of stats (see Hey Mom #177 link above), there were other entries as most popular all time including some more pre- Hey Mom stuff and some of my Weekly Comics posts. Those have been over taken by other posts since then, though the all time post is still the all time most viewed post: “Keeping Misogyny Alive and Well for Geeks Nationwide”.

As you can see, my musical posts tend to be popular each week, and I hit a local maximum on Valentine's Day with over 400 views and the Happy Horny post is still logging high numbers a week after the event.

I am happy to see the punch a Nazi post getting a lot of traffic. I am also happy to see my play reviews hitting high both currently and all time. The "Christmas Schooner" post has gone nuts!

I am also happy to see this post -- THINGS THAT SUCK #2: “Please PrePay in Advance” -- be an all time highly viewed post as I am particularly proud of it. I think it's one of the best things I have written in the last ten years.

I like that the Trump posts are getting plenty of hits, so expect more of those. Also, I am pleased that the post on the Eerie comic has been so popular because, though the core of it is re-publishing someone else's content, about half the content is mine, and I spent a lot of time on the cover gallery, which, if you look at my blog frequently, you know I love the comic book cover galleries.

I am not sure why my 500 days post has been so popular. It must be the bots.

Expect more of this kind of content as represented by my popular entries. I am encouraged.

TOP POSTS THIS WEEK

53 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #594 - The Lady of the Dawn- Musical Monday for 1702.20

37 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #588 - Happy Horny Werewolf Day

37 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #572 - It's okay to punch a Nazi

36 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #589 - The Outsiders, a play review, WAD 1702.11

36 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #590 - Cubs Win Fall Classic: a masterpiece - ESPN

TOP POSTS THIS MONTH

I peaked at 420 views on Valentine's Day this month.

179 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #572 - It's okay to punch a Nazi

150 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #577 - DIPLOMACY & America You Look Like an Arab Country

142 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #576 - How Eerie Changed Comics

133 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #567 - Donald Trump Signs Anti-Abortion Executive Order Surrounded by Men

130 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #566 - Musical Monday 1701.23

TOP POSTS ALL TIME

1020 views - “Keeping Misogyny Alive and Well for Geeks Nationwide”

636 views - THINGS THAT SUCK #2: “Please PrePay in Advance”

247 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #516 - The Christmas Schooner Review - 2016 - WAD

241 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #498 - Test Tomorrow & 500 Days

231 views - Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #519 - Big O Cheat Sheet

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 602 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1702.26 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #599 - Saturday Morning Cartoon Flashbacks!

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #599 - Saturday Morning Cartoon Flashbacks!

Hi Mom, I honor of how I would camp out in front of the TV all morning on Saturday morning for cartoons, here's some of the great cartoons of my childhood because You Tubs is great!

These clips bring back wonderful memories.

It's an amazing thing that these cartoons, many of which have not been officially re-issued, have been shared via You Tube. We live in an age of marvels.




And my favorite all-time comic book store turned 34 years old this weekend, and its newsletter brought these cartoons to my attention. Congratulations and Thank you to Fanfare Sports and Entertainment of Kalamazoo!!

Here's some viewing for a great Saturday morning with a gallery of bonus images from some of the best cartoons!!

I wish we could watch all this together, Mom.























































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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 601 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1702.25 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #598 - World Map - Time Zones

Permanent link to this comic: https://xkcd.com/1799/
Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #598 - World Map - Time Zones

Hi Mom,

I am fighting being ill.

As I mentioned two days ago, even though I only learned about it last night, all the Kalamazoo public schools were closed today because 1900 people have this Norovirus. I feel it in my body, but it has not taken me down yet. I am partially functional, but I am fading. Also, I fade early in the evening, once the caffeine and adrenaline fade.

Liesel has been ill for over a week, but she is feeling better. I just have to hang on, drink fluids, get plenty of sleep, and not succumb.

We have to go to a funeral tomorrow for Olivia's father. "Have to go" makes it sound like a burden. "Want to go" is better. "Planning to go" is right. Then again, I "planned" to go to my friend Kristian and Heather's service for their father and I didn't make it.

I just have to stay healthy.

I bought a magazine about yoga the other day because its cover claims to have the secret to encouraging me to do yoga at home. I would like that.

I am saving my blog recap post for post #600, which will come up Sunday. If I get a lot of work done, I may be able to finish another with original content this weekend.

I had a calculus quiz today. I may take the entire weekend off from Calculus. Then again, I may reconsider and at least work on the chain rule for derivatives because those are fun.

I am heating up some crab and corn chowder for dinner.


I am listening to this right now.



I like this comic because I like maps of the world, and this is an interesting map.

Time to get ready for dinner and then lie down.

More tomorrow, Mom.

Permanent link to this comic: https://xkcd.com/1799/

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = ## days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - date - time

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #597 - Throwback Thursday - Lori's First Time in High Chair

Me and Lori-first time in High chair- cbt is 7 yrs 10 mos & Lori is 15 wks 5 days of age
Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #597 - Throwback Thursday - Photo Series One #17 - Lori's First Time in High Chair

Hi Mom,

Still working to catch up.

Very short today. More tomorrow.

I had lunch with Lori yesterday.

I love my sister, and I am very happy that we see each other regularly and have a good relationship. It's very important to me, and I know it's important to you, too, Mom.

Thank you for making our family.

Link to all photo series one posts

Oooh, look at these cool flipped numbers: 569 and 596.

The #15th post in this photo series one set of posts: Hey Mom #569.

The #16th post in this photo series one set of posts: Hey Mom #596.

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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 599 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1702.23 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #596 - Me and Mom 3.5 months 1962-Photo Series One #16

Me and Mom 3.5 months 1962-Photo Series One #16
Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #596 - Me and Mom 3.5 months 1962-Photo Series One #16

Hi Mom,

I am a bit behind schedule. This is Friday 1702.24. I have been struggling. I am keeping an illness at bay. But the whole city is ill. 1900 people have the Norovirus. Kalamazoo Public Schools have closed for Friday Feb. 24th.

So, I have tons of work and my work day has been abbreviated as I run out of energy about 6 p.m. I am up at 5 a.m. though. I am trying to log hours, but between grading work, running classes, attending classes, and trying to do Calculus homework, I have been slammed.

So, let's do a couple photo days!

I don't have much to say about the photo other than it's serene and beautiful.

This was my original intention for this blog feature anyway. Something short. Something manageable. Lots of pictures of you, Mom.

I was reminded lately by a reader that she enjoyed these pictures. So, here's another. It makes me happy. It's also bittersweet because a close friend of the family just lost he father. I think of that as I post pictures of you, Mom.

I have two or three posts with original content in the works, but no time to finish them right now.

Readers can look at the other photos in this series via the next two links.

Link to all photo series one posts

The last photo series one post: Hey Mom #569.


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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 598 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1702.22 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.