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Thing we were happiest to learn: Mad Pooper V. Colorado never became a landmark first amendment case. Once the local news picked up on the story and the Mad Pooper’s fame grew, a video appeared on YouTube from a man purporting to be a family member of the Mad Pooper, who he identified as “Shirley.” He apologized on her behalf, saying she had suffered a traumatic brain injury. But he insisted that she was breaking no law (in fact, she was breaking several), and that public pooping was protected by the First Amendment and belonged in the same protected category as breastfeeding. The local news brought on a lawyer who “emphatically rejected that claim,” and a few days later the video was revealed to be a hoax—the man claiming to be “Shirley”’s relative was in fact an established YouTuber “known for producing videos of flatulent pets,” and his pro-pooping manifesto was an attempt at satire.
Sexual Violence Awareness Month: Minister Aheer | Mois de sensibilisation à la violence sexuelle : ministre Aheer Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women Leela Sharon Aheer issued the following statement on sexual violence in Alberta: Some parts of this page will not display. JavaScript is not available in this browser or may be turned off. “Sexual violence has a ripple effect through our communities and affects every single one of us. The rise of sexual and family violence this past year shows that all Albertans must stay committed to supporting survivors, educating our youth and continuing to work towards a safer and more inclusive society. Sexual violence often lives in the shadows. We need to empower Albertans and local communities to say something when they see something.
Graphic: Natalie Peeples You’d think that once someone committed to embodying an archetype of forbidden and mysterious power, they’d relax a little about the whole “black magic” thing. But anxiety about practicing the “wrong” kind of witchcraft permeates occult literature; Of Blood And Bones, a book about using taboo materials like—well, like blood and bones—in spellcraft, opens with an extended introduction reassuring readers that it’s okay to engage with the dark and difficult as well as “love and light.” Elissa Washuta, on the other hand, spends little more than a page dismissing these dichotomies as nonsensical, and racist to boot. Titling her third book
Alerts Hummingbird Salamander, it should be said straightaway, is a pulpy page-turner with as many twists, double-crosses, and mystery-box riddles as one of Dan Brown’s gimcrack potboilers. It’s not a fair comparison, of course, as Jeff VanderMeer is a terrific writer, while Brown struggles with any sentence above the reading level of a Highlights magazine. But in terms of plotting, it’s remarkable how faithful the latest novel from the author of the Southern Reach Trilogy is to the beats and tropes of a conventional thriller. A protagonist receives a strange clue and is quickly ripped out of their normal, domestic life into the shadowy world of terrorists and government operatives; there are rabbit holes of conspiracy and bread crumbs leading to tight-lipped sources; danger and death lurk around every corner.
Comedy Bang! Bang! celebrates 700 episodes with laudable lunacy Graphic: The A.V. Club The A.V. Club sifts through the ever-expanding world of podcasts and recommends the previous week’s best episodes. Have your own favorite? Let us know in the comments or at podmass@avclub.com. Advertisement A little over a year ago, during the surreal pre-lockdown weeks where everyone was making end-of-the-world jokes and rigorously scrubbing their hands, fan-favorite comedians Jason Mantzoukas and Andy Daly joined host Scott Aukerman for what would become one of the last in-person CB!B! recording sessions. Now, exactly 50 Zoom-recorded interview-improv sets later, there’s some gratifying and symbolic bookending for listeners as the two guests return to mark two milestones: 1) the 12-year-running show’s 700th episode, and 2) the famously cautious and hygienically minded Mantzoukas seeing some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. One of the noteworthy evolutions to occur over
In the title story of I’m Waiting For You, the first of Korean science fiction writer Kim Bo-Young’s works to be translated into English, the unnamed protagonist says he felt he was prepared for solo space travel because he’d once spent a few months without leaving his home. After a year in which so much of the world has experienced an even more extreme version of such isolation, that idea might seem trite. But then the character goes on to explain how wrong he was: That wasn’t actually living alone. I have never once really lived alone. Someone cleared away the trash I left out for collection, and emptied the septic tank… In another place they boiled noodles and put them in a dish and delivered them… I had never lived alone, not once. How would really living alone even be possible?
Graphic: Libby McGuire A male friend—not my best friend but a close one—told me his wife was really attracted to me, another male, and asked if I was attracted to her. His wife is an incredibly hot woman and I thought it was a trick question. I read your column and listen to the Savage Lovecast, Dan, so I know there are guys out there who want other men to sleep with their wives, of course, but I didn’t want to risk offending this friend by saying “FUCK YEAH” too quickly. After he convinced me it wasn’t a trick, I told him that of course I wanted to have sex with his wife. She’s incredibly beautiful and a really great person. I told him that I was not at the least bit bisexual and not into MMF threesomes and he told me he wouldn’t even be there. He just wanted to hear all the details later—and hear them from me, not her.