In the News (#774)

The trade union movement has to decide whether it’s going to back workers…or…police.  –  Laura Watson

Monsters 

The Swedish model protects sex workers!

Last year, France passed [the Swedish model, under the pretense of]…protecting sex workers from prosecution, but…[as sex worker activists predicted] it is simply driving them further underground and exposing them to far more danger.  Transsexual prostitutes who work in Paris’s Bois de Boulogne…are disproportionately affected…

Prudesville 

A new twist in Everett, WA’s absurd “bikini barista” melodrama:

Bikini baristas…are suing [Everett] over its ban on serving “quick service” food and drinks with bare shoulders, midriffs, or upper thighs…a group of seven baristas and one coffee stand owner filed a federal lawsuit alleging a violation of their rights to free expression, privacy, due process, and equal protection…Everett isn’t claiming that the regulations serve any food safety or public health purposes…the point of the dress code is to prevent…baristas from giving customers a peep show for extra cash…Employee violations can lead to fines for business owners, along with a requirement to register for a special license (which the city can deny)…if the owners are judged to have “facilitated” the “lewd conduct,” they can be slapped with a $5,000 fine and a year in jail.  Essentially, Everett has created a crime similar to promoting prostitution—but for facilitating skimpy clothing…

Law of the Instrument (#560)

Picture what you’d think of as “sex trafficking”, then compare it to this:

A St. Louis man who was employed at a high school is facing child pornography and sex trafficking charges after police said he exchanged illicit texts with a 15-year-old male student at the school.  Michael A. West…told the [young man] he could get him an opportunity to make money for performing sexual acts…

Cases are this are why even some not-completely-stupid people believe that “sex trafficking” is increasing; “sex trafficking” charges certainly are.

Social Autoimmune Disorder (#594)

Add Dayton, Ohio to the cities mailing blatantly-unconstitutional “Dear John” letters to the registered addresses of vehicles passing through certain neighborhoods:

So far this year, the Dayton police Vice Unit has mailed 18 [threat letters] to the owners of vehicles that were spotted in areas [police claim to be] known for high levels of prostitution.  The letters are supposed to [scare] people [by claiming that wanting sex]…is a “serious offense” that carries potential…deadly disease and other sexually transmitted infections…[often] the recipients are spouses or business owners whose vehicles were in the possession of [others] when [cops decided to stick their noses into others’ business]…

To Molest and Rape 

The US government claims it takes reports of cops raping women seriously…as long as they’re not US cops:

…two U.S. students…were raped by Carabinieri policemen who [took] them home in a patrol car from a nightclub…three patrol cars went to a nightclub to investigate a fight.  Two cars left after calm was restored, but the third remained.  The women…told authorities that the [cops] drove them to their apartment building and raped them…witnesses…confirm[ed] they saw the women enter the patrol car…

Uncommon Sense (#669)

The IWW was the first major union to support sex workers rights, but it won’t be the last:

The GMB and ASLEF have come out in support of the full decriminalisation of sex work in Britain, the first major unions to do so…The unions, which have a combined membership of over 600,000, are calling for the UK to adopt full decriminalisation, similar to the approach adopted by New Zealand, which since 2003 has provided sex workers with legal protections…

The Pygmalion Fallacy (#687) 

“Sex robot” hysteria gets ever sillier:

A cybersecurity scientist has issued a bizarre warning that sex robots could one day rise up and kill their owners if hackers can get inside their heads…cybersecurity lecturer Dr. Nick Patterson [fantasized] that the lifelike dolls could end up going all “Terminator” on us…hackers could breach the realistic robots’ inner defenses and catch their owners with their pants down…

Does this idea seem familiar to regular readers?

The Widening Gyre (#735)

They finally realized they could expand the panic by adding male “sex slaves”:

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation [formerly “Morality in Media”], Washington College, and The U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking held a historic press conference…to kick off the first ever symposium on the sexual exploitation harming boys and men.  The government, NGOs, and society at large have overlooked male victims of sexual exploitation, the organizations [pandered]…Haley Halverson…of…the [NCSE fantasized]…that [the] estimated range of male trafficking victims hovers in the hundreds of thousands”…

The NCSE is a fundamentalist Christian anti-porn organization which is also behind the recent tactic of getting conservative states to declare porn a “public health crisis”.

Comfort Zone (#769)

Sometimes the attempt to hide migration control behind the “sex trafficking” narrative is especially apparent:

…”It had been more than 10 years since Gari, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala…had seen his younger brother.  So he was surprised earlier this year when he received a call from a federal government agency telling him his teen brother had emigrated alone from the Central American country to the Arizona-Mexico border…the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…asked Gari to take legal guardianship of his brother….officials [lied]…that it wouldn’t jeopardize his own safety….[but] Gari…was arrested…by federal immigration agents who had used his little brother as bait“…immigration attorney Yazmin Rodriguez…knows at least three other similar cases…ICE [pretends] using children fleeing violence as bait “[is] part of a broader mission to disrupt human trafficking”…

The Mote and the Beam (#773)

The odious Nick Kristof finds it “baffling and perplexing” that internet companies don’t want the internet destroyed by sociopathic politicians on a witch hunt:

Sex traffickers in America have…a…crucial (if secret) ally: Google…organizations it funds have for years been quietly helping Backpage.com, the odious website where most American [passive, vegetable] victims of human trafficking are sold, to battle lawsuits from [ambulance-chasers fantasizing that] children [are] sold there for sex.  Now Google is using its enormous lobbying power in Washington to try to kill bipartisan legislation that would [enable profiteers to sue]…websites that [they claim] promote sex trafficking [or virtually any other federal crime]…as Backpage fights off prosecutors and worries about the legislation, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, Google has emerged as its behind-the-scenes champion…

What I find “baffling and perplexing” is that so few people recognize “One-hand” Kristof’s BDSM masturbatory fantasies about underage girls for what they are.

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Links #370

I regret that we had not sufficiently understood that others would see this event so differently.  –  Archbishop Terrence Prendergast

Longtime readers will appreciate this video…what if one of my favorite musicians did a version of the theme music of one of my favorite shows?  The links above it are from Tim Cushing (“does”), Clarissa (“pro”), Tushy Galore (“headline” and “never”), Walter Olson (“books”), and Brooke Magnanti (“tender”).

• As one does.
• Hire a pro, guys.
• Headline of the week.
• A masterpiece of pure stupidity.
• 6000 historical children’s books, free online.
• They’re especially nice when young and tender.
• Why is “never” such a difficult concept for people?

From the Archives

• Remember the guy who was charged with “sex trafficking” because he dragged a girl off of her bicycle in a rape attempt?
• If “prostitutes, pimps [and] drug dealers” weren’t criminalized, we’d easily be able to contribute to your system.
• More reporters should be ashamed of their attempts to shame sex workers.
• Imagine if $100,000 was spent on giving services instead of spreading lies.
• Say you’re “fighting sex trafficking” and stupid people will give you money.
• Amazon’s not a library, but given prominence this is a censorship attempt.
• The girls who did this better hope no other whores ever learn their names.
• I’m sure you feel safer now that police “investigated” this “sexual assault”.
• Irish judges love stealing whores’ money & giving it to our worst enemies.
• Minnesota tries to cash in on “sex trafficking” hysteria before it vanishes.
• Cops “explain” their versions of events, but the rest of us merely “claim”.
• Are politicians really stupider than other people, or does it just seem so?
• Yet another rescue industry “hero” is revealed as an opportunistic fraud.
• Marketing for this film makes it look more like lurid drama than fantasy.
• A short biography of the famous Old-West madam, Squirrel Tooth Alice.
• Being a “legal” sex worker doesn’t protect you, so stop your bootlicking.
• Pompous ass seems committed to braying out of both sides of her maw.
• Sometimes land grabs are more subtle, even if reporters’ language isn’t.
• I’m glad to see well-spoken & “out” sex workers appearing on podcasts.
• Sweden emasculates its men, wonders why Swedes are having less sex.
• Once again, Liz Brown exposes the tyranny of “fighting sex trafficking”.
• I’m sure kidney patients are happy to die in support of this “principle”.
• Nearly all “sex offender” laws are this unconstitutionally overbroad.
• More groups are speaking up in favor of sex work decriminalization.
• How does this dude think he’ll get around UK brothel & avails laws?
• Why do economists make such dumb assumptions about sex work?
• Polaris Project says the more broad & carceral laws are, the better.
• You’re supposed to be a libertarian, Gary; this ain’t rocket science.
• Empty-headed actresses champion denying people self-ownership.
• Despite its appearance in Rolling Stone, this is an excellent article.
• Putting extraordinary restrictions on cops is not remotely unfair.
• My friend Savannah Sly on the Hollywood response to Amnesty.
• It’s rare to see an essay like this in the US, but not in Canada.
• Could be worth looking into for non-porn sex workers as well.
• Spanish police will no longer accept donations from brothels.
• Hawk Kinkaid urges queer folk to support sex worker rights.
• Another of those cases whose reported details don’t add up.
• To what extent is sex work criminalization tied into racism?
• Cops are only allowed to rape whores, not treat us fairly.
• Satan, vindication, cops, laws, Sweden and much more.
• Another health organization issues a pro-decrim report.
• Hey Cosmo, are you ready to speak out for decrim yet?
• In which I announce the return of my ability to travel.
• Not a bad introduction to the concept of whorearchy.
• Actually, this does give an inaccurate image of cops.
• DARE accidentally endorses marijuana legalization.
• Yes, they actually sent a SWAT team after whores.
• Too much for the tiny, narrow minds of politicians.
• Authoritarians will try anything other than decrim.
• This one’s hilarious even by CNN’s low standards.
• The government is culpable in these assaults.
• In other news, Pope announces he’s Catholic.
• How can I arrange to see you professionally?
• Cops, blasphemy, money and much more.
• A week at the ranch, but not a slow one.
• My two previous columns for Lammas.
• Another abomination from Alabama.
• A week of highs and lows.
• Rapist cops of the week.
• The stupid, it burns!
• Sex rays!

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Links #369

I can’t breathe.  –  Louis Tramunti

Another of my favorite voice artists is gone; this video features many of her better-known roles, but she had so many they’re literally uncountable (included the original “Chatty Cathy” doll and her sinister Twilight Zone twin, Talky Tina).  The links above the video were provided by Jesse Walker (“Skynet”, “planets” & “map”), Franklin Harris (“RIP”), Scott Greenfield (“never”), Tim Cushing (“alley”), and Tejas (“accused”).

• Skynet is coming.
• On rogue planets.
• R.I.P. June Foray.
• “Never”. It’s not a hard word, really.
• “The female became deceased in the alley.” Seriously.
• Latitude comparison map of North America and Europe.
• Cops murder man for living next door to someone accused of a crime.

From the Archives

• “Authorities” amazed imaginary problem doesn’t materialize in response to their declaring it exists.
• Even among stupid “sex trafficking” publicity stunts, this is painfully stupid.
• Cops raping whores is so ubiquitous, others pose as cops to facilitate rape.
• The “big events” that supposedly attract “sex trafficking” grow ever sillier.
• Your periodic reminder that Dennis Hof is a revolting excuse for a human.
• I wonder if any of them recognize how pathetic their denials sound to us?
• In case you thought cops raping whores to arrest us was just a US thing.
• It isn’t only in the US that black women are routinely profiled as whores.
• Prohibitionists cut into street workers’ income by hanging around them.
• Cops, abominations, lawyers, Washington, gonads, strife & much more.
• In case you don’t believe cops & politicians are completely out of touch.
• Every little bit helps to undermine the “sin and degradation” narrative.
• Writer tries to counter SWOP statements with anti-whore propaganda.
• This is obvious to whores, but it’s nice to see academics discovering it.
• Calling a prison “Freedom Place” is as Orwellian as one could imagine.
• The usual cast of Hollywood airheads is very unhappy about Amnesty.
• A thorough debunking of “sex trafficking” hysteria by Brittany Turner.
• You can be as bigoted as you like, as long as you blame it on whores.
• Government uses especially nasty crimes to undermine liberty for all.
• Note this was accomplished by the usual whorearchical line-drawing.
• Another entry in the “climate change causes ‘sex trafficking’!” genre.
• Pro-censorship morons are still trying to destroy the entire internet.
• Most cops think they’re nobles, but this one thinks he’s King David.
• People need to be frequently reminded of what Ruhama actually is.
• Batman, Sesame Street, socialism, cops, “rescue” and much more.
• More mainstream media are debunking “sex trafficking” hysteria.
• A few of my favorite lines from “6 Reasons to Hire a Sex Worker“.
• This is pretty typical of the level of “evidence” in sex work trials.
• Note how closely this resembles “sex trafficking” propaganda.
• Kerry Porth describes her experience with a disfigured client.
• “Crucified” is a very strong word for such a toothless rebuke.
• Somehow I doubt this will stop morally-retarded politicians.
• The Irish version of “gypsy whores” myth is rather comical.
• How “authorities” intentionally spread diseases in prisons.
• It’s impossible to overstate how important this reversal is.
• Judge orders jury to find an “authority” not guilty of rape.
• Heather Saul stopped a serial killer by shooting him dead.
• The answer is, “Because it doesn’t actually exist as such”.
• The US should be proud to be in such august company.
• Don’t try to get freebies from sex workers.  Seriously.
• Neal Falls may have murdered women in nine states.
• Sex worker social networks help prevent unsafe sex.
• How many users did Ashley Madison actually have?
• Will India’s Supreme Court decriminalize sex work?
• I’m rather skeptical of the claimed disparity here.
• A busy week followed by a cross-country drive.
• A rebuttal to Madison Graham’s guest column.
• Why won’t my amateur friend be my safe call?
• As I said, “nothing more than a concern troll“.
• Please, David Rosen, become a prohibitionist.
• Rapist cops of the week, 2015 and 2016.
• More on EMPOWER’s sex work museum.
• A look back at July of 2012 and 2013.
• Another study shows Gardasil is safe.
• China aspires to be more like the US.
• You have a right to buy and sell sex.
• Don’t say I didn’t tell you before.
• Fault Lines interviews me.
• Backpage sues Tom Dart.
• A short trip to Portland.

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Humorous, Adventurous Rapists

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We pillage and plunder, we rifle and loot.
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot.
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack.
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho.
Maraud and embezzle and even highjack.
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho.  –  X Atencio

I often struggle to comprehend the incredible ability of the modern mind to not only reconcile cognitive dissonance, but to apparently function without even being aware of its existence.  Last week we had to endure the false “controversy” over Disney’s announcement that it was making changes in the animatronic figures featured in the 1960s-era Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  The story was covered in a number of places, but the writer from The Mary Sue made it easiest to zero in on the point I wish to make, so here she is:

Starting next year, Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride will no longer include the iconic Auction scene as we know it, in which animatronic “wenches” are sold as potential brides.  The pirates in the scene chant “we want the redhead,” but that redhead will now be reimagined as a pirate herself.  In a statement…Senior VP of Imagineering Kathy Mangum said, “We believe the time is right to turn the page to a new story in this scene, consistent with the humorous, adventurous spirit of the attraction.”  I took regular vacations to Disneyland growing up and absolutely loved the Pirates ride.  Yet I do remember, even as a child, finding something off about this scene.  I never tried to articulate it, and didn’t yet know terms like sex trafficking, but I did know that these women for sale weren’t in keeping with that “humorous, adventurous spirit” that permeates the rest of the ride…

So Vivian Kane, like so many puffed-up prudes, imagines she can project her adult feelings back into her child self, pretending that she “knew” there was something about the slave auction scene that “wasn’t in keeping” with the other activities of pirates.  Which other piratical activities, pray tell, is slave-taking “not in keeping” with, Vivian?  Robbery?  Kidnapping?  Arson?  Extortion?  Torture?  Murder?  I mean, it’s not like the famous song heard throughout the ride doesn’t list them.  In order: “We pillage, plunder, rifle, loot, kidnap, ravage, extort, pilfer, filch, sack, maraud, embezzle, hijack, kindle, char, enflame & ignite.”  Most of these are synonyms for “steal”, the last few connote arson, and though murder is basically cheated of a direct reference, it’s present as the warning “Dead men tell no tales” (intoned earlier in the spookier part of the ride).  But “kidnap and ravage” in the first verse there is pretty clear; it’s a nicer way of saying “abduct and rape”.  Because despite the weird 21^st -century idea that pirates are somehow humorous, whimsical characters with ridiculous vocal mannerisms, they are actually (note the tense; they’re not mere historical figures) violent criminals, hijackers and robbers at sea with little compunction against mayhem, torture, murder and yes, rape.  But while nobody has yet managed to sell the idea of a humorous ride centering around terrorists, a kids’ movie series about carjackers or a “Talk Like a Rapist Day”, somehow pirates (bizarrely conceived as forever locked in the late 17^th century) have been stripped of basically all of their realities (except maybe the ships) and re-imagined as lovable seafaring clowns led by strangely gender-and-sexual-orientation-ambiguous performance artists with highly idiosyncratic fashion senses.

Now, I’m not arguing against black humor; I’m actually a fan of it, and plays like Arsenic and Old Lace are among my favorites.  I see absolutely no problem with using very nasty subjects such as theft, murder, insanity, war, tyranny and yes, even rape and slavery, in entertainment (even humorous entertainment), provided it’s done competently (“dead hooker” jokes are badly overused & I’ve never seen one act as anything but a cheap laugh).  And the historically-illiterate man-children who have a problem with the existence of female pirates can sit and spin; here are two articles to start the rotation.  My problem is the neo-Victorian pretense that rape (and by extension, sexual slavery) is one topic that is absolutely off-limits, even when depicting fictional characters who joyfully commit every other crime of violence imaginable, including murder and torture!  Another example of the same asininity is provided by “feminists” who moan lugubriously about the lyrics of the Rolling Stones songs “Under My Thumb” and “Brown Sugar”, while failing to notice that the narrator of “Sympathy for the Devil” is boasting about having caused murder, war and genocide (because clearly, sexual exploitation of one single woman is much worse than the Holocaust).  This is the old “fate worse than death” argument writ large across the face of our whole decaying culture; it’s worse than ridiculous, it’s completely deranged.  If murder, piracy and the sack of whole cities are fit subjects for a “humorous, adventurous” amusement-park dark ride, so is “sex trafficking”; and if Disney’s going to start removing all subjects of moral panic from its properties, I’d like to see how it’s going to replace all of those witches.

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Diary #366

I stayed rather busy last week, from walking with SWOP in the Seattle Pride parade on Sunday (because somebody has to speak up for sex workers, since Gay, Inc won’t), to spending an overnight in Portland with one of my favorite gentlemen (whom I’m going to call Ghost Rider, a nickname that he approves of), to going to see Wonder Woman on Thursday night with Jae.  I wasn’t really planning to see it, because as regular readers know I’ve been a major Wonder Woman fan since childhood and DC has been totally fucking up every single superhero film it has made in this century, from a dark, murderous Superman to a clownish Green Lantern, and I just couldn’t bear to see that done to the Amazon princess.  But Jae asked me to take her to the movie and I wasn’t about to disappoint her; as it turns out, I’m really glad she asked because I was extremely pleased with the film, which may well be the best DC superhero flick ever (including the justly-beloved Christopher Reeve Superman).  I’m not saying it was flawless, but I was easily able to overlook the flaws due to the superlative portrayal of Diana’s personality and character and the skill with which the director depicted her growing from a sheltered princess into a heroic, unstoppable champion of righteousness and compassion.  In the sequence where she truly becomes Wonder Woman, a charge across no man’s land (the film takes place in the First World War rather than the Second of the traditional story) to rescue a village whose plight has moved her heart, I literally cried out loud, sobbing at the beauty and power of the scene.  It was quite an experience, and I highly recommend the picture to anyone who enjoys superheroes or strong female characters, and especially to anyone who has an adolescent daughter to share the experience with.

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Links #364

People die in these circumstances.  –  Darci Tierney

I saw this video pop up a few days ago; someone decided to compile all of the silly window cameo jokes from the old Batman TV series, and it seemed an apropos feature given Adam West’s recent demise.  The links above it were provided by Tim Cushing (“patience” and “bicycle”), Jillian Keenan (“happens”), Radley Balko  (“partisanism”), Cathy Reisenwitz (“whatsoever”), Kevin Wilson  (“game”), and  Lenore Skenazy (“lucky”).

• Pathological patience.
• I hate it when this happens.
• The deep stupidity of partisanism.
• Never call the cops for any reason whatsoever.
• Humans are so surprised when beaten at our own game.
• NOT FOR ANY REASON.  She’s lucky she isn’t in a cell or hospital.
• Crime: no bicycle light. Sentence wanted by prosecutor: life in prison.

From the Archives

• Massage parlors are popular cop targets because they’re low-hanging fruit.
• Prohibition turns people into “crime scenes”, to be violated by cops at will.
• So nice when “sex trafficking” bullshit is called out in mainstream media.
• Only parts not profoundly ignorant are those that’re profoundly obvious.
• “Cross-border trafficking of prostitutes” = “escorts driving across town”.
• At least Canadian media have the sense to put “rescue” in scare quotes.
• How “Walk Free Foundation” comes up with ridiculous “slavery” figures.
• Politicians realize cops’ scam is too obvious, pretend to be “concerned”.
• The truth of one fact doesn’t change the incoherence of 1st part of this.
• This wouldn’t “shock” anyone with the approximate timidity of a sheep.
• Should a sexually-traumatized man go to a whore to lose his virginity?
• The people prohibitionists want in charge of “protecting” sex workers.
• Cops, Don Martin, Patrick Macnee, Dolly Parton & Captain Kangaroo.
• Most people are so naive they don’t realize this is par for the course.
• “Residential farm” = “doing menial agricultural labor for their keep”.
• The key players in the recriminalization of sex work in Rhode Island.
• Another overly-broad and mindlessly-draconian “revenge porn” law.
• Another mainstream article tearing down “sex trafficking” hysteria.
• I’m not sure why this was controversial; nobody can deny it’s true.
• SCOTUS demolishes what little was left of the Fourth Amendment.
• A profile of sex worker Kitty Stryker, in Cosmopolitan of all places.
• Cops openly admit being lazy fascists; the public just stays asleep.
• It isn’t just whores who have power to grant demons “permission”.
• I’m not sure how working for free could be considered a “protest”.
• Cops claimed they didn’t know if this murder was hate-motivated.
• This looks like another case in which everyone involved is awful.
• Irish iterations of the “gypsy whore” myth are the silliest ones.
• What “legal but heavily regulated” actually looks like in action.
• Conner Habib wrote last year’s best essay about prohibition.
• Bindel can’t possibly be as delusional as she pretends to be.
• If a man wants an open marriage, what’s the wife there for?
• RAPING a whore is OK; it’s only paying her that’s an issue.
• Announcing SWOP’s sex worker comedy & variety show.
• Because ordinary English words can emit sex rays, too!
• Imagine American cops making a statement like this.
• You know that “negative secondary effects” bullshit?
• A ludicrous masturbatory fantasy from San Diego.
• Hortense Mancini was a whore down to her genes.
• My two previous columns for the summer solstice.
• Ignorance of the law creates train wrecks like this.
• Once in a while an insanely-broad law is defeated.
• Once again, actual figures disprove the hysteria.
• Cops, laws, toys, Picasso, 2001 and much more.
• Sexually exploitative prison guards of the week.
• What is probably the first report on Neal Falls.
• Cops say having sex is “as serious as it gets”.
• Those magical pimps work amazingly fast.
• Rapist cops of the week, 2015 and 2016.
• Another cop, another prostitution sting.
• The rapist of a sex worker is convicted.
• Definitely not a police state, no sirree.
• A sex worker’s murderer is convicted.
• Who are the “sex traffickers” again?
• Sex Addiction: A Critical History.
• More cops devouring their own.
• On the past exonerative tense.
• Self-care and whale-watching.

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Goodies

At long last, The Forms of Things Unknown is out; some people are saying it’s even a stronger collection than Ladies of the Night, and the reviews I’ve seen so far are good.  Those reviews are really important, so if you read the book (either in paper format or Kindle) and like it, please take the time to do a review for me on Amazon.  Even if it’s a short one, Amazon likes seeing reviews and the more there are, the more my book will show up on the radar of people who haven’t heard of me before.  That will boost sales of both Forms and Ladies, and of the essay collections I plan to release before the end of the year.  A gent is helping me to set up a merchant site (there are a few bugs, but I’m hoping we can fix them) on which to sell both books, autographed copies, the last four copies of the special edition Chester Brown did for me last year, future books, autographed photos, maybe even copies of my friends’ books and more!  But for right now, let’s concentrate on The Forms of Things Unknown; you can buy it in either paper or Kindle form on Amazon in the US, the UK, France, Germany or Italy, or order it from Barnes & Noble.  Or if you prefer, you can get an autographed copy for $26 if you live in the US, $31 if you live in Canada and $36 if you live anywhere else; the price includes shipping, which is why it’s more outside the US.  Of course, you could set up a book reading at a local bookstore for me; that would get me to fly to you so I could autograph your copy in person!  If you’d like to do that, email me & we can plan.

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