http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=516

Back to the world.

Hi everybody. I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a good one.

I am sure most of you are already familiar with Child's Play. For those who are not, it is a charity set up by Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade. Its goal is to provide games, toys, and entertainment to children in hospitals. The charity is doing exceedingly well but there will always be more sick children and they will always need more donations.

I was a sick child myself. I spent a lot of time at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis and thanks to their fantastic care I am here today, able to bring you these silly comics. But I know firsthand how rough it can be for a kid in the hospital with nothing to do. Tonight I discovered that Riley has a Child's Play Amazon Wishlist where anyone who wishes to do so can purchase an item and have it sent to the hospital.

I urge you to take a look at that list and see if there's something you might like to buy for a child. Or check out the Child's Play homepage to find a hospital that may be more significant to you, or click on that Paypal button to send in a donation. It doesn't have to be much; even a few dollars here and there will add up.

My sincere thanks to anyone who chooses to help in whatever way. Thank you for helping to bring a little bit of cheer into a painful experience. May the new year treat you well. Thanks for listening.

It's weird coming home for the holidays. When I am around people I haven't seen in years, I behave the way I was back then. And so do they. I'm not sure why I do it. Maybe it's easier to just fall into old habits then take the risk that you might not like the new versions of each other? Or maybe it's just easier to not make the effort. I've grown and changed a lot in the past few years, but when I'm back in Halifax, it's hard not to act like the old me, and it's unnerving as fuck. So I come home less and less often. I like the new Joey more. I look better naked now, for instance. I don't know how that happened. Maybe nobody looks good naked until they leave their home town. Or anyway maybe it's hard to believe you look good naked until you get away. Maybe it gets easier to believe once you go somewhere new and you get to be who you are, instead of who you had to be in order to get by where you were.

My Eljay is SIX YEARS OLD today! :D:D

http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=515

Seasons Greetings from all of us here A Softer World. We've had quite the year, haven't we? It's been a bit of a roller coaster. But there were peaks as well as valleys. For every unwanted pregnancy there was a fortuitous tumble down the stairs, and for every human trafficking police sting operation there was an incompetent handling of the evidence! Another year has come and gone, and neither of us have ruined our lives yet. We hope you're full of high proof cheer

My friend Emmy made a shocking discovery recently; someone in Japan is totally ripping off my comic! Fortunately she has a friend who knows a little bit of Japanese so he helped translate it into English. It's a little rough but it gets the idea across. Still, can you believe this??
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http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=513

It is the time of year when I get very excited about upcoming movies. Sherlock Holmes is the top of my list, because a) I really enjoyed Snatch by Guy Ritchie, and b) I am queer as a glass doorknob for that delightful Robert Downey Jr.

Also, I am actually a bit excited about seeing Avatar, which was not the case after I first saw the trailers. But the more I hear about it, the more interested I get. It's not first on the list, but it's on there. Has anyone seen it? What did you think?

(Also, A Single Man is so good, and you should see it if you can.)

The beguiling in Toronto now has signed copies of the new book, and the old book, and Overqualified, if you live in Toronto and were hoping to get someone a signed book!

http://www.beguiling.com/2009/12/now-in-stock-softer-world-volume-2.html

(It is also, of course, available to order online here.)

Doodling. The eternal struggle continues!

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