Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Worst Impacts of Climate Change...



This issue is about Climate Change. As I said previously, this is another disastrous aspect of Trumpism. In fact, on election night I posited to friends that Climate Change was the biggest tragedy of this entire election.

Unlike some of the other issues we face, Climate Change must be addressed now, and the impacts will be nigh impossible to reverse. This comic was actually the first one I wrote in the wake of the election. On November 9th I texted this to Dustin. It was much like the 2014 midterms when I proposed to bring Rick back. Vociferations were only to be a backup for when Rick could not be produced.

The main reason I held this comic back is because it was technically challenging. With all the teddy bears, I had hoped that it would be one Dustin would tackle. It would have been much easier for him than for me in DAZ. One positive aspect of me working in DAZ and Blender is that I get to experience all the hell I put Dustin through with my scripts over the years. My ideas are expensive and cheap. In my head of course, these things cost nothing.

Another challenging aspect of this issue is that it marks the first time that someone dresses up in a costume. I don’t think I’ve quite nailed the art of doing this, but I think it is a good first step. Even though the costume is nothing like I wanted, I like how it turned out.

Tune in Thursday for more of the Trump filibuster.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

I've found Jesus!



This issue is about both Donald Trump’s immigration policies, and his stance on Muslims. Donald Trump’s appeal to Xenophobia is appalling. It stirs up hate crimes and energizes the Alternative Right, even if Donald Trump is now trying to condemn them.

Xenophobia is completely self defeating. It energizes Muslim extremists, and, for Hispanics, it sows resentment in a growing Demographic. Not to mention that the people Donald Trump are vilifying are just a scapegoat and an easy sounding solution to our problems.

With this, I have criticized almost every major aspect of Trumpism. I still have to criticize Trump’s stance on Climate Change, and trust me, that is coming. I plan to have a comic for every single Donald Trump policy position, and possibly every single crooked person Donald Trump puts in his administration. That is part of the reason I wanted to do the filibuster. Trump’s policies are so bad that they deserve a rebuttal. They deserve one sooner rather than later.

In production notes, doing the Beast of Bodmin Kid was a challenge. I was really worried about creating his character. I am disappointed that it didn’t turn out closer to the way he appears when Dustin draws him. I like the Beast of Bodmin Kid, and I can’t imagine no having him in the comic. Overall, I am happy with how he turned out.

I actually did the Beast of Bodmin Kid before I did Dayton or Lillian just because I was so nervous about creating his look. Like I said though, I am happy with how he turned out. I also feel like doing the Beast of Bodmin Kid was a practice run for doing the other costumes which will appear in the comic. I feel much better about doing those models now that I have done the Beast of Bodmin Kid.

This set is the exterior school from Con Nachzehrer. I figured that it could double as a church. The van is new.

Come back Tuesday for more of the Donald Trump Filibuster.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Bad Metaphor



Tonight’s issue brings up another important aspect of Trumpism, which is Sexism. Trumpism is basically all the crappiest isms rolled into one tidy package.

I mentioned the sexual assault comments Trump made, and women posting their reaction to it specially because it blew me away. I knew that we have some problems with sexual assault in our country, but I had no idea it was so pervasive. The fact that it is really disgusts me, and this attitude towards women is something we as a society should roundly reject.

I spend a lot of time with conservatives. Many of my friends are conservative. Just last week I was at the bar with one of my conservative buddies and he starting talking about how guys today are too sensitive. He talked about how a man shouldn’t be open with his feelings. Almost all of my conservative buddies supported Ted Cruz and I have heard them espouse many conservative viewpoints. I mention this because I have never heard anything from them resembling Donald Trump’s “locker room talk”. Not once. The things Donald Trump has said are completely unacceptable. Not just his pussy grabbing comment. It is also unacceptable when he suggests that women who experience workplace harassment should just toughen up.

I am planning for this to be the first of several comics which are against sexism and pro Feminist. I find myself at a weird place. My views have evolved considerably since 2012, when Rick, the Crytozoologist ended its first run. While I fully support equality, I find it hard to label myself a Feminist. I see my relation to Feminism as I see my relation to the Democratic Party. I am on the same side politically as the Democratic Party, but my ideas don’t sync up enough to them for me to feel comfortable labeling myself a Democrat. At the same time, I find myself swinging for the Democrats quite a bit. I criticize the adversaries of Democrats more often than I criticize them. My criticism towards Democrats is more friendly. I also openly voted for Hillary Clinton. I let all my conservative friends know who I planned to vote for. I feel the same way about Feminism.

Where I disagree with some Feminists is on things like chivalry. I open doors for women, actually, I open doors for men, too. If someone is carrying something heavy, I open the door for them. I think chivalry should be expanded, not done away with. If we are going to change something, it should be changed to make it more kind.

On the subject of changing things to be more kind, I’d like to mention the double standard for male leaders and female ones. Many people have pointed out that if a male leader acts aggressive, he’s just taking command, whereas a female leader is being a bitch. That’s true, and its bullshit. I think, however, that the answer to that conundrum is just to condemn the male leaders as well. I don’t know when it became a favorable attribute to be a tyrant, but it should stop. It is part of a creeping authoritarian strain of thought which is infecting our society, and that we should do away with it. My ideal leader is firm, quiet, competent, calm, and fair.

I remember when Sarah Palin was selected as John McCain’s running mate. I asked my mother, a die hard Feminist, if she thought it was horrible that finally a woman had gotten onto a major party’s ticket for president only for it to be Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin acts just as ridiculous as a male politician. Hillary Clinton exhibited some of the same difficulties wielding power as men always have. Women aren’t inherently nicer than men, they just haven’t historically had opportunities to be horrible. (Although I can name a few examples of that of the top of my head.) The problem is that human beings in general are terrible when you give them power over others. We have to fix that, which means changing the thinking for both male and female leaders.

The other thing I would fault some Feminists for is denying gender exists. I do believe gender is more complicated than the traditional binary way of measuring it, but it does exist. There is scientific evidence for the fact that gender exists. The biology between men and women functions in different ways. I don’t think in the long run those differences are great enough to prevent either gender from achieving something of which the other is capable. Much more important than any inherent abilities we possess is the choices we make in life. I’m sure many women can beat men in a fight just by virtue of the fact that they exercise and take good care of their bodies.

I’ll probably make some comics about these things in the future. I will continue to lambaste Donald Trump for his sexist words, and more importantly, his sexist policies. For now, the important thing is that I oppose what he said. I think it is bullshit that half of our population has to put up with such nonsense from the other half.

In production notes, I made the models for Dayton and Lillian for this comic. I also made the backyard of Dayton’s House. I imagine Dayton doing a lot of things outdoors, so this will be a major set. Doing these models was not nearly as hard as doing the Rick, John, and their house.

Come back Sunday for more of our Filibuster against the election of Donald Trump.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Awkward Meetings



Here is another issue in our Trump filibuster. The premise is very simple, so I won’t spend much time on that.

I will however, detail some production notes. This is the first issue of Rick, the Cryptozoologist to be done in DAZ Studio and Blender. That also makes it the first issue I have done entirely on my own. I’ve always been ambivalent about doing this. I didn’t want to do this comic without Dustin because he had invested so much in it.

Dustin is working on new art for the comic, but he has two kids and is busier than me. I will just be helping him on weeks when he is too busy for the comic. From now on, Vociferations will officially become just Rick, the Cryptozoologist.

This issue was challenging. I made an entirely new set and it took much longer than I planned. This set is very detailed. I usually would have just done a room, but this time I did the entire house. I figure we will be spending a lot of time in this house, so I put a lot of detail into it. Bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen, the dining room, a garage, a basement, and the whole yard. I will have fun with this set.

I also recently built a new computer, so I had to redo my settings and render this comic a few times.

Come back Thursday, Thanksgiving night for our next comic in the Filibuster.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Unspoken Rule....


The filibuster continues. As I said last week, given Trump's appeal to xenophobia, I put a heavy emphasis on race. I also tried to do some comics on sexism, these are coming.

The filibuster will continue on Tuesday and Thursday. These both may be released a little later than usual, maybe even early morning the next day.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Nicknames


(Sorry this is a bit late. I actually had this done Tuesday but did not think of it because I get home from work late on Thursdays. The Thursday update may be more like a early Friday Morning one.)

This is the second update of my Donald Trump Filibuster. I wanted to get this one out early because it gives Trump the nickname I intend to use to refer to him by.

A Jive Turkey is someone who talks a big game but never delivers, so it seems like it fits.

Additionally, because Donald Trump's campaign focused so much on xenophobia, I wanted to highlight the racial aspect of his campaign. I am also saddened by the disillusionment I have seen in minorities since the election. I want to express solidarity and express the fact that I do not agree with Donald Trump's xenophobia.

I also think that it is good that Trump condemns violence against minorities, but I would caution that it isn't enough. He also hired Steve Bannon who makes racist comments. There are also those in Trump's adminstration who brushed aside Bannon's comments by joking, "He can't be that antisemetic, he worked as a banker and in Hollywood."

That strikes me as remarkably tone deaf. That strikes me as a massive red flag. The problem is also how Trump and his advisors don't realize how policies like Stop and Frisk are racist.

Coming back to the premise of the comic, they are all around jive turkeys.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Filibuster


I have a big announcement tonight. In light of the Donald Trump election victory, this comic will be changing to a three comics a week release schedule. This is not a permanent change. This is a filibuster to protest against Donald Trump. I’m not sure how long this will go on, being a filibuster, it will go on for as long as I can sustain it. The schedule will be Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.




This is my favorite sort of comic to make, because it calls out both sides. Ok, I don’t support these protests. I just think you have to respect the outcome of the election, and that the proper response is engage in grassroots organizing. The proper response is to win the next election and the one after.

I don’t blame the FBI as much as I blame the Democrats for running a poor campaign. They didn’t reach out to working class whites.

I also think we should save the protests for when Stop and Frisk is rolled out on a national basis, or when Donald Trump violates the constitution.

On the other hand, I don’t like that these protests are being called riots. They have been largely peaceful and I think that the conservative reaction to them shows how dissent is viewed by a portion of the population. These people have every right to protest.



 
This is the return of Rick, the Cryptozoologist. Rick is going to be posting a lot. There’s not much of a point here, just a statement that I intend to carry out the filibuster.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

This Sucks...



This is my response to the election of Donald Trump. You can bet that Vociferations will be posted weekly, permanently. I am bitterly disappointed in the outcome of this election. I am disappointed precisely because I believe that this vote was a vote for the America of yesterday and not the America of tomorrow. Despite this, I do respect Trump’s talent in accomplishing his win. As a believer in Democracy, I respect the outcome of elections. This is what the American people wanted, and so be it.

I remind myself that I hold common ground with the President Elect on trade, on certain business matters, infrastructure. I do begrudgingly wish Donald Trump luck because come January he will be my president, and I wish the country to do well.

That said, in a Democratic government, the right to vote is but one right we possess. Included in our rights is the right of free speech, the right to criticize the government and our people. A fundamental aspect of our Democracy in my mind is also a deeply held skepticism of those in authority. I expressed my desire a little over twenty four hours ago to lay criticisms on Hillary Clinton should she win. This isn’t a partisan issue for me. That’s why I also chose to criticize Donald Trump tonight in what is sure to be one of the many times I will criticize him before and during his term in office.

I speak tonight as a member of the minority who does not wish to be oppressed or railroaded by the majority. I would point out that our system was designed to give a voice not only to those who win elections but also to those who lose them.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Rock the Vote



I decided to post this comic early in order to encourage my fellow citizens in the United States to get out and vote. Consider it also my apology for missing a few updates recently.

(A note, I intend to update another comic next week. Next week I will announce whether or not the once weekly schedule will continue through the Inauguration, or whether Vociferations will return to being biweekly.

I am tempted to continue the weekly schedule regardless of the outcome of the election. If, God forbid, Trump should win, well, I’d want to continue lambasting him. If Clinton wins, I’d like to get back to talking about progressive issues I actually care about. I aim to be more neutral and talk about ideas. I try and criticize both parties. I’d like to return to that mission statement. One of the biggest tragedies of this election is that with Trump, the American people got cheated out of a real conversation about issues.

I was pondering making Vociferations weekly and wanted to use the elections as a pretext to test the idea. I set a very unrealistic schedule with my first Webcomic and never made my deadlines, so I am very cautious with my schedules now. Perhaps too much so. With Con Nachzehrer’s future up in the air, I am more ambivalent about making Vociferations weekly though. Updates to come on the schedule.)

I oppose all attempts to make voting more difficult, and I support measures to make it easier, like automatic registration. Honestly, I think I’m starting to come around to the idea that voting should be mandatory. Either you vote, or you have to do your civic duty by completing community service.

I don’t think politicians would worry so much about turnout(one way or another) if elections were entirely meaningless. I don’t think politicians would gerrymander districts to such an extent if elections didn’t matter. Regardless of your choice, go out and vote. Enjoy that we live in a Republic.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Dental Conspiracy



This issue is about Climate Change, because, as many liberals have noted, Climate Change is not getting near the attention it deserves in this campaign for being such a big issue.

This idea came to me because of a conversation I had a few weeks ago about Halloween candy. Someone mentioned giving out healthy treats and the entire room was pretty much against it. Someone cracked a joke about it probably being Michelle Obama. (Incidentally, I looked it up and the Obamas did give out candy for Halloween, with Barack Obama even telling the kids not to listen to the First Lady on healthy eating for the night.)

This got me thinking about the issue as a liberal one. After seeing news stories about people giving out healthy alternatives to candy, I hit upon the idea for this comic.

Personally I gave out candy, and handfuls of it at that. I’m a bad example because I ate so much of the candy I gave out I had to run to the store and buy more to have enough, but I think indulging for one night is fine. The real issue is making sure you have a healthy diet in general. About five years ago, I stopped drinking soda entirely and I lost a ton of weight.

Anyway, Happy Halloween everyone, even if it is a day late.