How My Mother Fought, Won, But Ultimately Lost the War Against Hollywood – Part 1
My mother was a devoted patron of religious radio…. which meant… she was constantly reminded of the war Hollywood was waging against the innocent souls of her children. Every movie was a portal to the heathen… Every storyline– a lure to the dark side… And every cute critter — a demon in disguise… Her plan […]
WHY Would the “Religious Right” Vote for Trump?
I read Dr. Randall Balmer’s book, “They Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts Faith and Threatens America” about 8 years ago, but what he shares is especially timely for today’s political climate. With Dr. Balmer’s permission, I created “It Will Be Ar’ite’s” first full animation entry based on his research and insight into the origins of […]
Less Me, More Wiener Dog
My wife and I have fostered rescue dogs for nearly a decade, so we felt confident we had experienced the full spectrum of trial and horror that could possibly accompany most challenging dogs. For instance… one of our foster dogs wouldn’t walk up stairs no matter how hard I tried to coax her… … yet […]
Decking the Halls
My mother always had an artistic vision when it came to decorating. Christmas was no exception. Over the years, old sentimental holiday trinkets and misshapen child-crafted ornaments quietly disappeared and were replaced with impeccable, streamlined, retail-worthy decor. Although soulless, it was gorgeous. One of these family Christmases sticks out to me as a reminder that […]
The Life of a Freelancer
The Illustrated Guide to the War on Christmas
It’s almost that time of year! A time of festivity… …over-eating… …drinking… …and singing…! That’s right! Merry Saturnalia! Every December, ancient Romans celebrated Saturn (their god of agriculture) by reversing social norms. Roman slaves temporarily became rulers and rulers became slaves. It was like a big ol’ “Opposite Day” – that included binge drinking, over-eating, […]
My Sunday School Guide to Gay
When I was a kid, my church boycotted Disney… Not because of Disney’s overseas sweatshops… Or because of their lack of on-screen racial diversity… We weren’t even boycotting them because there appeared to be a giant, golden penis on the cover of one of their children’s movies… The reason we boycotted Disney was because they […]
NintenHo Ho Ho!
Guest Post (Thank you, J!) My parents had cultivated the idea that my sister and I were hopelessly over-indulged… … and they firmly believed that Christmas presents should be educational or functional… like… When I was 12, I decided to lobby heavily for a Nintendo. My parents, however, were having none of it… until […]
I Was A Child Grinch (part 3)
Guest post (Thank you, T!) : I wanted walkie-talkies for Christmas. It was the apex of the CB craze and I imagined running around the woods and neighborhood using my cool CB lingo with my cool new walkie-talkies. My dad was the indulgent one – and he liked his CB — so it was a […]
I Was A Child Grinch (part 2)
Guest Post: My mom was the master of keeping up illusions. One year she used boots to make footprints coming out of the chimney… …she knocked some stuff over…. …and dropped a doll in the ash… “Look!” She said, “Santa must have been in a hurry! He made such a mess and dropped this doll […]