BOB DYLAN PRESENTS PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACK "MURDER MOST FOUL"

Some learned friends of mine, bigger Dylan fans than I, are saying this is Dylan's epitaph for America. Not sure I'm feeling that, exactly... but it sure is something.

WATCH GUY MADDIN'S NEW FILM "THE GREEN FOG" FOR FREE ONLINE!

Here is the trailer for the latest offering from Canada's most unique and iconoclastic cinematic genius, offered up as a gift to the world in a time of global crisis.

You can watch the entire film for free on Vimeo, at this link. Witness for yourself why Maddin has earned a reputation as Canada's answer to David Lynch!

WOW!!!

Igorrr - Very Noise from MEAT DEPT. on Vimeo.

BEST POLITICAL CARTOON I'VE SEEN IN AGES

AN INKTOBER OFFERING FOR Y'ALL!

Yes, I know that the tradition for "Inktober" is that you're supposed to create one drawing per day for the entire month... but who's got the time anymore?! Particularly with the world being in the state that it's in. Attention is forever drawn elsewhere, and it seems as though time just gets away from you. I haven't even really had a chance to catch up on my reading (be it literature, non-fiction, or even comic books), or even my movie watching (I've had Midsomar cued up and ready to go for two weeks now). 

Thankfully, however, I recently decided that I needed to get my drawing chops back, in order to get ready to work on some new personal projects. So I took a crack at drawing the leader of Cult 45, the man some call Preznit Trump! 

Here's how it turned out...

So that's how my first effort turned out, using nothing but a blue ball-point pen and drawing freehand, without a guide image of any kind. The results were okay. I felt a little rusty, and it shows, but I was sufficiently encouraged to give it a second go, this time basing it on one of my most hated photographs of the crusty orange slug-man, creating a light pencil guide image first, and then drawing over it with three different sizes of technical pens. Then I imported it into Photoshop and did a tiny bit of enhancement using the Oil Paint overlay style to smooth it all out. 

Here's how THAT one turned out...

Not bad, eh? Gotta admit, I'm actually VERY pleased with how this one came out! So pleased am I, in fact, that I believe I will continue to practice drawing (particularly my problem areas, like backgrounds, architecture, vehicles, weapons) from hereon out, hopefully until I get good enough to finally tackle some illustrated stories I've been wanting to tell over the years!

Who knows? Maybe I'll even start doing commission art for money! Got a fetish you'd like to see visualized? Let me know and maybe we can work out a deal! Y'all know the email address.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD, BY ROGER WATERS

One of the strongest compositions on Roger Waters' career best solo album Is This The Life We Really Want?, this tune is finally available on Youtube, so any remaining skeptics can see one of the reasons why they NEED to own this album for themselves.

And if you're not convinced by this one, try Bird in a Gale, another favorite of mine from this album...

Be sure to listen soon, and download the audio if you like them, because they won't be up for long!

LEGENDARY ANIMATOR BILL PLYMPTON TAKES ON TRUMP... AND YOU CAN HELP!

CHILDISH GAMBINO'S INCREDIBLE NEW SONG/VIDEO

This is a goddamned masterpiece.

MOX NOX ~ SEQUENTIAL ILLUSTRATED SURREALISM FOR GROWN-UPS

Monoglots, rejoice! You don't have to be able to read Spanish to enjoy Joan Cornella's beautifully painted, multi-panel, single page comic strips. That's because this Spanish artist has chosen to leave her work wordless, a decision that ends up making just as much artistic sense as it does from a marketing standpoint. 

Mute as they are, Cornella's little stories practically scream for attention. Paradoxical in every conceivable way, these delicately savage non-allegories often achieve a near transcendent level of surrealism, displaying a paradoxically violent beauty via Cornella's delicately simple representation.

The gags don't always land, but they certainly do often enough to warrant giving each and every one of them the benefit of the doubt. And even the pages that fall flat often still contain something that makes them worthwhile... a strikingly beautiful design element, for instance, or a never-before-seen juxtaposition that stays with you, like an odd passing glance from a stranger on the street.

The book itself is also a thing of beauty. Bibliophiles will marvel at the design work that Cornella's North American publishers, Fantagraphics, have put into this product. Producing adult-oriented content with the colorful sturdiness and rugged durability of the best in children's publishing is a brilliant idea, and it's one that I hope more publishers will consider copying.

Ultimately, what we have here is a traditional European style "funny book" that can also easily be considered a collection of postmodernist sequential paintings that builds on the surrealist traditions of Dali and Bunuel. Fantagraphics is to be commended for helping to spread this artist's work beyond her home continent of Europe, and for making MOX NOX such a ridiculously low-priced bargain.

If you're thinking about purchasing MOX NOX via Amazon.com, please consider doing so through the links provided here. Much obliged!

SUGGESTED READING LIST ~ SEPT 30, 2017

Over at the New York Review of Books, J. Hoberman writes about "Fake News", a new gallery show by veteran Pop surrealist Peter Saul, about whom/which Hoberman writes:

With his imposing paunch, outsized neckties, and pompadour as pointy as Woody Woodpecker’s beak, Donald Trump has the most recognizable profile of any American president since Richard Nixon. Yet, as a cartoonist of my acquaintance has complained, artists are having a hard time caricaturing Trump, mostly likely because he already is a caricature—one reflected in mass culture’s fun-house mirror for close to forty years. 

We’re sick of Trump and we’re sick of being sick of him. Well-populated by images of the president, Peter Saul’s new show “Fake News,” at Mary Boone Gallery through October 28, is hardly a palliative, but it does illustrate the crass absurdity of the current moment. 

Saul, now eighty-three, has been categorized as a political pop artist and a proto-punk neo-surrealist, although he has as much in common with the grotesque Mad magazine cartoonist Basil Wolverton as with any American painters.

Personally, any art review that references Wolverton's work has got my attention. Anyway, here's another piece from the show, one of many more that are showcased at the above-linked overview. Enjoy!

***

It has become an increasingly open question as to whether the creation of the Internet was more of a boon, or a bane, to contemporary civilization. Regardless of the ultimate answer to that fraught question, there can be no denying that the web has been a godsend to obsessive nerds who wish to pore over every conceivable element of their favorite artist/author/musician/superhero/cartoon or whatever. 

Take, for instance, one of yer old pal Jerky's personal favorites: the notoriously camera-shy Thomas Pynchon, author of such majestic literary milestones as V., Gravity's Rainbow, and Mason&Dixon. Without the Internet, would Pynchon scholar Christian Hänggi have been able to put together this... well... here, let me let Christian explain:

The British literature scholar Cedric Watts once wrote: “One test of literary merit is fecundity, the ability to generate offspring”. More than many other novelists, Pynchon’s work has generated not only literary but also musical offspring: songs, bands, entire albums inspired by Pynchon’s themes and novels. In 1982, Steven Moore made a first attempt to collect such songs and inspirations in Pynchon Notes under the title “Pynchon on Record,” to which Laurence Daw added “More on Pynchon on Record” in 1983. Sixteen years later, Juan García Iborra and Oscar de Jódar Bonilla published an article that added more names to the previous lists. Since then, the search algorithms on the internet have vastly improved—and so has the amount of available information and the possibilities to upload one’s own material. 

I wrote a dissertation on music in Pynchon’s work (which I hope to publish soon), and since I believe that no large-scale study on this topic would be complete without acknowledging his musical offspring, I spent many days researching his impact on the music scene. I ended up with a list of more than eighty songs, artists, albums, and record labels who make their nods to the novelist, and I am happy to present it here for the first time, replete with links and comments.

I don't know about you guys, but to me, stuff like Christian's article -- titled Pynchon on Record Vol. 4 -- is precisely what the Internet was made for. And no, you don't need to have read any of Pynchon's incredibly dense but indescribably rewarding novels to be educated, entertained, or even excited by Christian's literary detective project. Who knows? You might even be tempted to crack open a challenging book for the first time since you threw your tasseled mortarboard into the air on graduation day!

***

What with Google having abandoned Youtube to the self-described "anti-SJW" Alt Right, who've somehow managed to game that site's algorithms in such a way that it is now, for all intents and purposes, an Alt Right Propaganda Organ, I'm having a difficult time figuring out whether it's even worth linking to the few remaining anti-anti-SJW voices still operating there. 

On the one hand, I think unique, intelligent creators like Hbomberguy, Shaun&Jen, and Counterpoints (creator of today's highlighted video, below) deserve a big audience and a wider platform. I have serious reservations, however, about whether Youtube can be that platform. Because, in case you hadn't already noticed, no matter what your political predisposition or how many progressive videos you watch there, Youtube will invariably invite you to watch a continuous rolling cavalcade of Alt Right, Far Right, and even occasionally openly Fascist bullshit by the likes of Sargoon of Arcade, Milo, Gavin MacInnes, Lauren Southern, Dave Rubin, Black Pigeon, Atheism is Unstoppable, Ben Shapiro, Richard Spencer, Alex Jones, Blair White, Red Ice Creations, David Duke, etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum. 

It's fucking ridiculous. No matter how many times I've made the extra effort to try and block specific Youtubers on an individual level, it never fucking ends. I've even written Youtube's complaints department about it on more than one occasion, and have yet to receive any response or explanation whatsoever for this blatant bullshit. 

Anyway, Contrapoints is awesome; the most entertaining and intellectually substantive trans activist currently using Youtube as a platform. Not that she focuses exclusively on trans issues. She doesn't. But her education level, production values, and telegenic qualities are enough to make her a real up-and-comer on the punditry scene. If I was a manager at CNN or MSNBC or what have you, I'd snap her up as a special commentator in a heartbeat. 

Anyhoo, in today's offering, Contra steps up and tries to describe... THE LEFT! So buckle up, buttercup, and click play. But watch it here. Don't go over to Youtube. Unless you enjoy being assaulted by Alt Right propagnda... 

PARTING THOUGHT FOR THE DAY...

Support for Donald Trump's impeachment is now (and has been for months) higher than his approval rating, in virtually EVERY poll that measures such things. The last time I checked, his approval rating was hovering somewhere around 39%, while support for his impeachment was at 43%. So the next time you're feeling shitty about how low your fellow Americans have sunk in so many different and important ways... just keep in mind the fact that Trump is INCREDIBLY unpopular. It's a minor comfort, but it is comfort nonetheless.

DONALD TRUMP INAUGURATION POSTER

Thanks to the mad genius who made this and failed to embed his url or email on it! Lemme know who you are and I'll credit you asap!

SUGGESTED READING LIST ~ NOV 17, 2016

Look, folks, I realize things aren't quite "normal" at this point, if they ever were. And I realize that, more likely than not, the Republicans are getting away with stealing yet another election (about which much, MUCH more in future editions). But what are we gonna do... kill ourselves? Oh, they'd love that, wouldn't they? So no, suicide is not an option at this point, even if only to deny those fuckers the pleasure.

In fact, if there's one thing keeping yer old pal Jerky going at this point*, it's the promise of a day soon to come... a day upon which I will get to witness one or more of these pridefully ignorant, fascist fecal golems - these Satanically animated piles of festering moral rot conjured to rancid life via some obscure Nazi witchcraft - get what's coming to them. The incredulous look in Stephen Bannon's rheumy, bloodshot eyes as he's being dragged out of his home by the authorities due to his penchant for [REDACTED] and his [REDACTED] "hobby" will be indescribably glorious.  

Good times are coming. All we have to do is wait. The bad guys have cornered themselves at the top, and there's nowhere for them to go... but down.  In the meantime, here are some interesting links to help while away the wait! - YOPJ

***

1. Okay, so now that I've tried to lift your spirits a bit with the promise of juicy scandals to come, above, along comes Neal Gabler with possibly the most depressing, despairing, and accurate post-election summary that I've read so far. You must read it, and you must pass it along to your friends, whom you must get to read it. It reads in part:

If there is a single sentence that characterizes the election, it is this: “He says the things I’m thinking.” That may be what is so terrifying. Who knew that so many tens of millions of white Americans were thinking unconscionable things about their fellow Americans? Who knew that tens of millions of white men felt so emasculated by women and challenged by minorities? Who knew that after years of seeming progress on race and gender, tens of millions of white Americans lived in seething resentment, waiting for a demagogue to arrive who would legitimize their worst selves and channel them into political power? Perhaps we had been living in a fool’s paradise. Now we aren’t. 

This country has survived a civil war, two world wars, and a great depression. There are many who say we will survive this, too. Maybe we will, but we won’t survive unscathed. We know too much about each other to heal. No more can we pretend that we are exceptional or good or progressive or united. We are none of those things. Nor can we pretend that democracy works and that elections have more or less happy endings. Democracy only functions when its participants abide by certain conventions, certain codes of conduct and a respect for the process. 

The virus that kills democracy is extremism because extremism disables those codes. Republicans have disrespected the process for decades. They have regarded any Democratic president as illegitimate. They have proudly boasted of preventing popularly elected Democrats from effecting policy and have asserted that only Republicans have the right to determine the nation’s course. They have worked tirelessly to make sure that the government cannot govern and to redefine the purpose of government as prevention rather than effectuation. In short, they haven’t believed in democracy for a long time, and the media never called them out on it.

Democracy can’t cope with extremism. Only violence and time can defeat it. 

Read the rest. Then read it again. Then forward it to everyone you think needs to read it, and make sure they do. Talk about it, quiz them on it, shit like that. 

***

2. One of Deadspin's sub-blogs, Concourse, has a magically delirious array of photographs from Donald Trump's first day as President Elect, photos that prove he doesn't like this any more than we do! Seriously, the man looks positively petrified... that is, when he isn't putting on one of his other two favorite post-election faces: profoundly confused, or deeply disinterested. As article author Ashley Feinberg puts it:

Donald Trump likes going to rallies. He likes hearing people scream his name in ecstasy while calling for the imprisonment and death of his enemies. He likes going on TV. He likes hearing about how high the ratings were after he goes on TV. He likes grabbing women by the pussy and moving on them “like a bitch.” 

What Donald Trump does not like, however, is keeping his promises, sitting still for more than five minutes at a time, or doing any kind of work whatsoever, tedious or otherwise. It’s probably why so many of his business ventures were spectacular, blistering failures over the years. 

But unfortunately for Donald Trump and everyone else in the world save Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump is about to be the president. And as miserable as it is for us, there is one small, saving grace amidst the despair: Donald Trump looks like he wants to die.

She's not even remotely joking about this; the man looks like he's aged half a decade in a couple of days. His hair is whiter, his skin is translucent, he's just generally lumpier and blotchier... it's not a good look. As he might himself tweet: "Not good. Not good."

***

3. And finally for today, I bring you a couple of short films by District 9 director Neil Blomkamp in honor of Donald Trump's election! Unfortunately, the films are on his Instagram, and I can't figure out how to embed them here. They're among the most recent items on the page, though, so they're easy enough to find. Then I went to Youtube and found a couple different versions of his videos (embedded below) but these have different music, so I'm assuming they're the product of someone who is unaffiliated with Mr Blomkamp, and who is using his content without permission. I like the bootlegger's music choices, though, gotta admit! Anyway, to find out more about this ongoing project, check out this AV Club link. Ciao for now.

* Two if you count the new Kong: Skull Island trailer.

SUGGESTED READING LIST ~ NOV 7, 2016

1. The Rude Pundit has published his Final Word about tomorrow's election day, and wow... it's a fuckin' doozy. Entitled "Last Note to Trump Voters: You Are Wrong and You Are Shit and Your Candidate Is Shit", it begins:

If you want to waste some time in sad bemusement, you can read recent columns by open-hearted progressives and depressed conservatives, desperately trying to convince voters for Republican candidate and human whoopee cushion Donald Trump to change their minds. In the Washington Post, for instance, former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson begs like a bitch, "In the end, a Trump victory would normalize the belief that the structures of self-government are unequal to the crisis of our time." Over in the New York Times, Thomas Friedman reaches out his friend hand to the Trumpsters: "I understand why many Trump supporters have lost faith in Washington and want to just 'shake things up.'" But, Friedman assures them, Trump's "policies won’t help them. Trump promises to bring their jobs back. But most of their jobs didn’t go to a Mexican. They went to a microchip." It's so kind of them to try to help their fellow Americans make such an important decision. 

However, none of these rational editorials rationally laying out how irrational a vote for Trump is even approach understanding the Trump voter. They miss one big goddamn thing: The very things they think should convince sane people to turn against Trump are the very things that Trump voters love about their orange cult leader. You aren't dealing with anyone with reasonable intelligence or the ability to process logic, so stop trying. Trump voters are shit humans, so obviously they want a shit human for president. And your oh-so-good points about how terrible Trump is are wasted on such shit.

Gorsh, Rudy! Why doncha tell us how you REALLY feel?! A-hyuck!

2. A couple weeks ago, I came home to find that every apartment in my building had been visited by the "Your Ward News" fairy... you know, the supernatural being who flits around the city, hand-delivering free copies of the most batshit insane publication in the history of printed media? "Hoorah!" I thought to myself as I scanned its bonkers pages filled with the most over the top racist, sexist, anti-Semitic drivel this side of Der Stürmer! "Just the thing to while away those otherwise wasted minutes on the shitter!"

So... what modern day Julius Streicher is responsible for this tabloid, which could serve as Exhibit B by anyone wishing to make a case that the Western World is undergoing an acute mental health crisis*? Why, it's none other than Dr. James Sears, mild-manered alter-ego to notorious Canadian Pick Up Artist Dimitri the Lover!

Look, I know it's all a lot of weirdness to absorb in one go. Just trust me that, if you're one of the growing minority of people who've come to realize that the allegedly resurgent Far Right has already reached Peak Pathetic, Your Ward News will provide lulz aplenty! It quite literally argues against its own political stance via reductio ad absurdum. And the best part is... one issue is all you'll ever need! I realize nothing beats the sleazy realism of dirty newsprint rubbing off on your fingertips, but you cheapos can download a free copy now, from their website. Remember, this stuff is ideological dynamite, so handle with care!

3. And what better way to end this Suggested Reading List than with a flurry of sad, disturbing, and yet still somehow lovely cartoons? Enjoy.

* Exhibit A is the Trump ascendancy.

DONALD TRUMP ~ A PORTRAIT

I drew this during the first debate, which I watched with my good friends Kristan and Matt, in order to keep my hands occupied, just in case I inadvertently lashed out and accidentally punched a hole in the wall. I know it isn't much, particularly insofar as political cartoons go, but heck, it's the best I could do under the circumstances. I'll try to do better in future efforts. In the meantime, ENJOY! - YOPJ

AN UNLIKELY HYPOTHETICAL

If a hyper-advanced race of aliens came to earth and told us to assemble our species' greatest achievements so that they could use them to stand in judgement over us, I would be perfectly comfortable with including Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii in total, and "Saucerful of Secrets" in particular, among the prime exhibits in our favor.

If you have any suggestions for achievements and artifacts to include in this hypothetical collection in defense of humankind, please either e-mail them to me, or let us know in the comments section, below. I know it's annoying to sign up to YET ANOTHER online entity just to leave a lousy comment or two, but I'd like to include more polls and things making use of Blogspot's commenting function, so please take the time to sign up, okay? I know that there are scores - and sometimes hundreds - reading each post, and I'd like to see that reflected in comments activity.

MEDIAVORE // COMICS ~ DAN CLOWES' LATEST IS A MASTERPIECE

Alternative comics legend Daniel Clowes is nothing if not prolific, and his output generally falls into one of two categories: short form comedy and long form graphic novels that, while retaining some comedic elements, tend somewhat towards detached, ironic bathos. Patience, Clowes' latest long form narrative project, is by far the most impressive work he's produced in the latter category.

Without giving too many plot details away (I've seen many reviews of Patience that are chock full of ridiculously revealing spoilers), I can tell you that Clowes has crafted a deft blend of soft sci-fi time travel fantasy and idiosyncratic, multiple stream-of-consciousness character study. So if you've ever wondered what Back to the Future would be like if it had been directed by Todd Solondz, then this is the book for you.

For those of you without access to a quality neighborhood comics shop or alternative independent culture store, Patience may be purchased at a seriously discounted price from Amazon.com. Also, if you buy it via the provided link, yer old pal Jerky gets a few shekels tossed into his beggin' cup.

If you're looking for a book that highlights an entirely different aspect of Clowes' substantial talents, look no further than his formally innovative misanthropic gut-buster WILSON, which continues to be my favorite thing that Clowes has ever done, and one of my favorite graphic novels of all time. And yes, purchasing it from the above link helps to keep me blogging.

OUR OLD PAL MARC BELL GETS BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2016 COVER!

Buy it now from this link, so that I can earn a few shekels in my beggin' cup! In fact, make ALL your Amazon purchases via links from my page, to help keep me in Caesar Salad and licorice whips!

I DREW A WIZARD! ENJOY!

PRINCE (1958-2016)

Lemmy. David Bowie. Keith Emerson. Gary Shandling. And now, Prince, The Purple One. His Royal Badness, is gone. Snatched away from us during what seemed like a career upswing, at a time when most everyone was prepared to, even if begrudgingly, admit his objective greatness and the legitimacy of his claim to the title of bona fide Musical Genius.

A prodigy with (thankfully) a bit of a Napoleon complex, Prince wasn't just a multi-instrumentalist; he was a master of multiple styles, as well. He had the funky groove of a young James Brown. He had amazing and intuitive Jimi Hendrix-like guitar chops. He had an experimental drive and force of will not unlike that of Frank Zappa, with whom he also shared a hatred of Warner Bros and a lifelong devotion to maintaining a racially and sexually integrated touring band. Also, like Zappa, he could be a strict disciplinarian, was incredibly prolific, and died far too young, with much left to do, and much of his life's work sealed in a vault, waiting to be discovered. 

Image-wise, Prince played the gender-bending game more successfully than anybody else, surpassing even the great David Bowie, if only because the latter was so alien that he often transcended sexuality completely, whereas Prince at his best was able to bring a visceral erotic dimension to the numinous... no small feat. And he did it all while flaunting a sleek, tight, unmistakably masculine physicality not unlike that of his fellow diminutive, Bruce Lee. 

And style! From the first glimmers of his super-stardom, the album 1999, Prince dressed and carried himself as though he were some kind of sexual superhero, or an ambassador from an alternate, funkier, sexier dimension. He was an urban Dionysus, a sophisto/aristo avatar of the Great God Pan. The man was a fucking giant and, if the legends are to be believed, he was also a giant of fucking.

For those of us who didn't know him on a personal level, perhaps the most inspiring aspect of Prince's life is that he was an artist, all the way. Yes, he had raw talent, seemingly gifted by God or Mother Nature with musical abilities beyond that of his fellow humans. And that alone would have been enough for most of us. Not for Prince. He didn't spare himself the disciplinary rigors through which he put his band mates. He never stopped sharpening his chops, honing his craft, reading, learning, investigating, and applying the fruits of his efforts to the incredible gifts that he made. For his audience; for us. For you. 

And now he's gone. 

This essay by A.J. Hartley, titled "Bowie, Prince, and a Note to (Baffled?) Millennials" does a pretty great job of articulating what it is that a lot of us are feeling these days, and of enumerating the evidence that we have, in fact, turned some kind of collective, cultural corner. I mean, intellectually, we all understand that time marches on and death claims us all--even the most legendary--but there's more to it than that.

Personally, while "Purple Rain" was a favorite back when it was everyone else's favorite, I would never call myself a super-fan. Which is why I'm finding it hard to account for the level of grief I feel. His music keeps coming at me in waves, breaking in sadness on the Heideggerian shores of Dasein. And even though "Purple Rain" definitely makes the short-list of songs in the running for Absolute Perfection status--up there with the likes of "Hallelujah", "He Stopped Loving Her Today", and "Ace of Spades"--I can't help but think he would have wanted his fans to remember him, at least in part, as the sexy motherfucker from the video for "Kiss".

Here it is. Sorry for the bad quality. Copies keep getting taken up and pulled down over copyright infringement, which is kind of cuckoo for a promotional video, but there you go. 

Watch, listen, enjoy, and remember.

SUGGESTED READING LIST ~ MARCH 21, 2016

1. I love amazing art, and I especially appreciate amazing artists who work in the more traditional forms, like painters who use actual paint in their paintings. I know, groundbreaking idea, ain't it? Anyway, when I do come across an artist whose work moves me, like, for instance, this piece does...

...I like to give them a shout-out in the hopes that maybe you folks out there will enjoy the work as much as I do. And so, without further ado, here is a huge gallery featuring the obscure, broken worlds of Russian painter Sergey Kolesov, aka Peleng! Oh, and if you'd like to see his beautiful Wonder Woman portrait, just stroll on over to his LiveJournal.

 

2.  Speaking of hipping you folks to awesome stuff, it's been far too long since I last linked to Nicholas Gurewitch's Ignatz Award-winning webcomic site, Perry Bible Fellowship, which is quite possibly the most consistently funny, intelligent, and unabashedly beautiful online comic currently being published. I mean, just look at this...

Not that it can't be ridiculous for ridiculousness' sake, as in this choice example...

Sometimes, an individual strip's humor can stray perilously close to "Dad Joke" territory. For instance...

But some jokes can also be "inappropriate", NSFW, and occasionally PG-13, as in this early strip...

I guess the thing I most appreciate about the Perry Bible Fellowship is that, if you keep clicking through the archive, you're pretty much guaranteed to find a strip that will be among your all-time favorites. Probably more than just one, now that I think of it. It's that freaking good. Oh, and you should totally buy his book. Pro Tip? Get the first collection, because the second collection is going for like 800 dollars for some reason.

3. And finally for today, I bring you Citizen Shane, an amazing lo-fi documentary about a tragedy-haunted, morbidly obese, serial killer-obsessed fellow by the name of Shane Ballard who ran for sheriff of Lownes County, Mississippi, on an anti-corruption, pro-pornography platform. As fascinating as this documentary is, the story behind it is just as wild. In fact, nobody would know of its existence at all if it weren't for our old pal Don Alex of Subterranean Cinema. Don, one of the world's most respected and hardest working collectors of, and authorities on, obscure films and video, used to trade and sell tapes with Shane. One day, Shane sent Don a copy of this documentary about his life and his run for elected office, which he'd produced with the help of some friends. Shortly thereafter, Shane would take his own life, igniting a charcoal fire indoors and asphyxiating himself. So, essentially, this documentary is all that remains of Shane Ballard, a man whom I think you're going to be glad you got to know, even if only via this one hour of video on Youtube. I'd say "Enjoy", but this isn't that kind of movie. Now watch.