Dave Sim's blogandmail #327 (August 4th, 2007)

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Fifteen Impossible Things to Believe Before Breakfast That Make You a Good Feminist

1. A mother who works a full-time job and delegates to strangers the raising of her children eight hours a day, five days a week does just as good a job as a mother who hand-rears her children full time.

2. It makes great sense for the government to pay 10 to 15,000 dollars a year to fund a daycare space for a child so its mother - who pays perhaps 2,000 dollars in taxes - can be a contributing member of society.

3. A woman's doctor has more of a valid claim to participate in the decision to abort a fetus than does the father of that fetus.

4. So long as a woman makes a decision after consulting with her doctor, she is incapable of making an unethical choice.

5. A car with two steering wheels, two gas pedals and two brakes drives more efficiently than a car with one steering wheel, one gas pedal and one brake which is why marriage should always be an equal partnership.

6. It is absolutely necessary for women to be allowed to join or participate fully in any gathering place for men, just as it is absolutely necessary that there be women only environments from which men are excluded.

7. Because it involves taking jobs away from men and giving them to women, affirmative action makes for a fairer and more just society.

8. It is important to have lower physical standards for women firepersons and women policepersons so that, one day, half of all firepersons and policepersons will be women, thus more effectively protecting the safety of the public.

9. Affirmative action at colleges and universities needs to be maintained now that more women than men are being enrolled, in order to keep from giving men an unfair advantage academically.

10. Having ensured that there is no environment for men where women don't belong (see no.6) it is important to have zero tolerance of any expression or action which any woman might regard as sexist to ensure greater freedom for everyone.

11. Only in a society which maintains a level of 95% of alimony and child support being paid by men to women can men and women be considered as equals.

12. An airline stewardess who earned $20,000 a year at the time that she married a baseball player earning $6 million a year is entitled, in the event of a divorce, to $3 million for each year of the marriage and probably more.

13. A man's opinions on how to rear and/or raise a child are invalid because he is not the child's mother. However, his financial obligation is greater because no woman gets pregnant by herself.

14. Disagreeing with any of these statements makes you anti-woman and/or a misogynist.

15. Legislature Seats must be allocated to women and women must be allowed to bypass the democratic winnowing process in order to guarantee female representation and, thereby, make democracy fairer.

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Okay, as promised, we wrapped up batch #2 in our never-ending Neil Gaiman Plugathon and now I'm getting back to my own mail. We have a couple of Celebrity Queue Jumpers this time out. Celebrity Queue Jumper #1 is Diamond Comics Distribution owner Stephen Geppi. Actually Clair Zamoiski Segal LLC of the world-renowned Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution. Ordinarily I would cover this in Correspondence (File #54 and counting) but, well, you'll see.




23 July 07


Dear Clair Segal:


Please thank Mr. Lee Hamilton for his notification to me of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution Woodrow Wilson Award being presented to Stephen Geppi at your Awards dinner at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore on September 20.


I have had the good fortune to be partnered in business with Mr. Geppi since the early 1980s – mine is one of the few comic-book companies which actually pre-dates Diamond Comic Distributors by a couple of years -- and, while we had our differences a number of years ago, I have never found him to be anything less than an honourable and above-board "square-dealer" in all particulars.


We in the comic-book field, of course, are familiar with him on a daily basis in his role as the top distributor of English language comic books in the world, his part ownership of the Baltimore Orioles, his resuscitation of the struggling Baltimore magazine but what many of us don't know – and I thank Mr. Hamilton for calling this to our attention – is that Mr. Geppi also helps underwrite health care programs and initiatives across the United States, including the Johns Hopkins Heart Institute and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.


I know that it will be a tremendous thrill for Steve, as Corporate Citizen, to be so honoured in the illustrious and stellar company of your Public Service Honourees, Dr. Robert Fischell (the inventor of the rechargeable heart pacemaker and implantable insulin pump) and the Honourable Martin O'Malley, Maryland's Governor who, in his previous capacity as Mayor of Steve's beloved home town of Baltimore, presided over the largest decline in violent crime in any major American city.


Unfortunately the dinner takes place during the sacred month of Ramadan when I make it a habit to stick close to home for my prayers, fasting and ritual observances, so I will not be able to attend. However, I am pleased to send a cheque for what would, I assure you under more favourable circumstances have been my most enthusiastic Individual Reservation at your dinner.


And may I also take this opportunity to thank you for including the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney so prominently in the handsome colour brochure which you forwarded with your invitation. As one of the architects -- along with the late Ronald Reagan -- of North American Free Trade it is gratifying, indeed, to see him displayed so prominently as one of your previous Public Service honourees.


I know I join with the entire comics industry in offering Steve – and the Woodrow Wilson International Center – a hearty "well done" for many years of public service and, God willing, many more to come.


So, here's to Stephen Geppi, good Corporate Citizen, benefactor, philanthropist and, I dare say, a Great American.


Sincerely,


And, speaking of people who are long overdue for a big glossy award and a testimonial dinner, our next queue jumper is the legendary co-creator of Captain America, Joe Simon by way of Robin Snyder. Robin writes:


Dave –


I read and enjoyed your entry on the murder of Captain America and figured Joe would like to see it. This is his response


Best,


Robin


Attached is a copied e-mail:


Subj: Hi Robin

Date: 7/5/2007 10:04:40 am Pacific Daylight Time

To: RSComics, Mgroben 1, Aikenbk, radioflyer2@mac.com, reyn685@yahoo.com

[I guess Robin wasn't the only one to let him know]


Thank you for sending the moving tribute from Dave Sims [hey, he doesn't know me from Adam. Cut him some slack, eh?]. I appreciate his excellent writing and thank him for his nice thoughts.


Could you please spread the word that my address is jsimon1655@aol.com?


We are working on several books here and I would hope that my mail would come directly here for obvious reasons.


After all these years I continue to enjoy your fascinating publication. Tell Steve Ditko that I am behind him and still remember when we were working together on 3D comics.


Love to the family.


Joe Simon


So there I go: there's a gem for the Cerebus Archive to go with my Jerry Seigel script and letters. If you've promised to kick yourself around the block (and you SHOULD) for never getting in contact and telling Joe Simon how important Captain America – and all the other great Simon and Kirby creations were -- in your life, now's your chance, eh? Don't overdo it and don't expect a personal response – in fact it would be nice if you said you don't expect one – but here's your chance. Likewise all twelve (or however many) of you retailers who read the Blog & Mail: as he says "We are working on several books here" – I suspect "we" is he and his son Jim. How about offering to lend a hand with whatever retail support you can provide? Advance orders or a nice re-order on his great autobiographical book THE COMIC BOOK MAKERS? I mean, where would you or any comics retailer be today without Simon & Kirby?


And thanks to Robin for forwarding my Captain America observations to Mr. Simon. I owe ya one, Robin.


Monday: Meanwhile, Back at the Elephantmen, things were heating up.

Tomorrow: Discussions with Chet re: Commentaries on the Gospel According to Mark




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REPLIES POSTED ON THE CEREBUS YAHOO! GROUP
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If you wish to contact Dave Sim, you can mail a letter (he does NOT receive emails) to:

Aardvark Vanaheim, Inc
P.O. Box 1674
Station C
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 4R2

Looking for a place to purchase Cerebus phonebooks? You can do so online through Win-Mill Productions -- producers of Following Cerebus. Convenient payment with PayPal:

Win-Mill Productions

Or, you can check out Mars Import:

Mars Import

Or ask your local retailer to order them for you through Diamond Comics distributors.